THE STORY OF THE CHURCH

Lecture Notes

ABSTRACT Lecture notes for Christian Worldview 2 course at School of

the Ozarks. See kylerapinchuk.wordpress.com for syllabus,

course textbook, and reading handouts.

Kyle Rapinchuk Christian Worldview 2

Contents

I. Era of the Apostolic Fathers, Part 1—Ante-Nicene Fathers (AD 60-325) .............................. 1

II. Era of the Apostolic Fathers, Part 2—Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (AD 325-787) . 11

III. The Rise of Christianity, Monasticism, and the Medieval Period (~480-1600) ........... 21

IV. Pre-Reformation, Renaissance, and Humanism ........................................................................ 31

V. Reformation ................................................................................................................................................. 33

VI. Protestantism: Anglicans, Separatists, and Puritans .............................................................. 45

VII. Christianity from the Enlightenment to Modern Period ....................................................... 55

1

I. Era of the Apostolic Fathers, Part 1—Ante-Nicene Fathers (AD 60-325) A. Acts: The Foundations of the Church

1. Pentecost and the formation of the church

2. The growth of the church—Lord added to their number those who were being saved

(Acts 2:47; 4:4; 6:1, 7; 11:21; 14:1;

B. Practices in the Early Church (texts are examples, not an exhaustive list)

1. Worship (Acts 2:46-47)

2. Breaking bread/communion (Acts 2:42)

3. Fellowship (Acts 2:42)

4. Serving one another (Acts 2:45)

5. Serving and caring for one another, even holding all things in common (Acts 2:45; 3:32,

34-35)

6. Prayer (Acts 2:42; 6:4)

7. Baptism (Acts 2:38, 41)

8. Teaching/preaching (Acts 2:42; 6:4, 7; 8:4; 9:20)

9. Care for widows (6:1-6)

10. Missions (Acts 1:8; 13:1-3; Paul, Silas, Barnabas missionary journeys)

11. Healing (Acts 3:1-10; 5:12-16; 8:6-8; 9:32-43)

C. Persecution and Martrydom in the early church

1. Acts

a. Jews persecuting Christians

b. Romans appear neutral, sometimes ignorant

c. Luke links persecution beginning with Stephen to the rapid growth and spread of

the church to other parts of the Roman world (Acts 8:1-8)

2. Roman Persecution

a. Claudius (AD 49)

i. Expels Jews from Rome (Acts 18:1-2)

(1) Seutonius, historian, speaks of civil unrest between Jews and Christians;

instigation of Chrestus (i.e. Christ)

ii. Christians, in Roman’s eyes, were just a subset of Judaism, so they were expelled

as well

b. Nero (AD 64)

i. Garden parties—lit Christians on fire to light parties

ii. Fire in Rome—Nero set a fire to Rome and blamed it on Christians, giving him

cause to persecute them

iii. Persecution local to Rome; not widespread

c. Domitian (AD 85-95)

i. General turning against Christians

(1) Increased hostility

(2) Governor level

3. 2nd Century Persecutions

a. Trajan (AD 98-117)

i. Pliny the Younger writes Trajan about how to deal with these troubles with

Christians (AD 112)

ii. Trajan’s response

2

(1) Someone of good standing must bring charges

(2) Do they need to commit a crime, or is the name Christian enough for

execution?

(a) Name alone warrants punishment

b. Hadrian (AD 117-138)

i. Similar response as Trajan (AD 125)

ii. Advocates a more aggressive approach—seek out Christians rather than have

them brought by someone in good standing

c. Marcus Aurelius (AD 177)

i. Widespread persecution, particularly in Lyons

(1) Mob violence when governor leaves

(2) Governor tortures Christians so they will confess

4. List of some martyred Christians

a. 1st Century

i. Paul

ii. Peter

iii. Likely all of the “12” except John

iv. James, the brother of Jesus

b. 2nd Century

i. Ignatius—Bishop of Antioch ii. Telesphorus—Bishop of Rome

iii. Polycarp—Bishop of Smyrna

iv. Justin Martyr

5. Christian Response

a. Christians largely saw persecution as an opportunity to witness to the truth of the

gospel in one of two ways:

i. Martyrdom

ii. Apology

D. Ignatius (AD 35-117)

1. Life

a. Bishop of Antioch

b. Writes seven letters during his period of imprisonment before he is martyred

2. Teaching

a. Addresses issues of church unity

b. Argues for full humanity and deity of Christ

c. Attacks Docetists, those who deny Christ in the flesh—says they are unbelievers

d. Advocates central role of bishop to teach the Scriptures and restrain body from sin

and division

E. Polycarp (AD 69-155)

1. Life

a. Bishop of Smyrna

b. Studied under the Apostle John, and is thus a link between the apostles and the early

church

c. Received two letters from Ignatius (one personal, one for church)

3

d. Writes a letter around AD 108 in which he quotes from 1 Peter, Pastoral Epistles,

Hebrews, all four gospels, and other possible quotes of Paul. He appealed to the

authority of the text of Scripture, including these texts among the Scriptures.

e. Martyred in AD 155

2. Teaching

a. Church offices

i. Elders

ii. Deacons

iii. Young men—those who are being trained for above positions

iv. Widows—minister to other women in the church

b. Opposed Docetism

F. Docetism

1. The belief that Jesus only seemed to possess a physical body. Most Gnostics were also

Docetists.

2. This teaching is clearly opposed to several major teachings of the NT: virgin birth, death,

resurrection, ascension of the resurrected Christ in bodily form.

3. Irenaeus addresses some reasons why Christ had to be man. Some of the Medieval

theologians also pick up on the importance of why Jesus Christ had to be man.

G. Gnosticism

1. Eight characteristics of Gnosticism

a. God’s essence is abstract and unknowable

b. God is not the YHWH of the OT—He is creator God and is lesser

c. Hierarchy of divine beings

d. Matter=evil, corruption

e. No contact between divinity and flesh (docetic tendency)

f. Humans capable of redemption

g. Redemption in the Word

i. Three classes of people

(1) Carnal—completely material

(2) Psychich/Soulish—possible, but not likely to be redeemed

(3) Spiritual—have gnosis, secret knowledge/revelation

h. Escape from flesh

i. Two approaches

(1) Rigid asceticism since matter is evil

(2) Hedonism since flesh does not matter

2. Several forms of Gnosticism

a. Syriac

i. Simon Maggus

ii. Spiritualism

b. Valentinian

i. Alexandria

ii. Sophisticated

c. Marcionism

d. Gospel of Judas

4

3. Summary of Teaching (common to most forms of Gnosticism)

a. Central tenet of Gnosticism was that everything physical was corrupt; only spiritual

things were pure.

b. Certain persons could experience secret knowledge of God which transported these

persons into a higher realm, beyond the limitations of their flesh.

c. The Gnostics rejected that the eternal Word became flesh, but rather taught that the

spirit of Christ merely possessed an ordinary human named Jesus.

H. Irenaeus (AD 130-202)

1. Life

a. From Smyrna. Studied under Polycarp, who himself was under the leadership of the

apostle John.

b. Appointed bishop of Lyons after other bishop is killed during time of persecution,

during which Irenaeus is in Rome.

2. Teaching

a. Trinitarian orthodoxy—basics

b. Argued for a Rule of Faith

i. Summary of the Scriptures that is summed up in Christ.

ii. Serves as a hermeneutical device and the rule/standard of orthodoxy

iii. Began as an attempt to ensure that those seeking baptism held to the orthodox

faith.

iv. This baptismal question was essentially a summary of the essential apostolic

teachings, answering the question “What must a Christian believe,” and

eventually developed into what we call today the Apostle’s Creed.

One God

Father Almighty Christ Jesus—Incarnate Son Holy Ghost/Spirit

*Creator

*Passion, resurrection

*Heavenly Work

*Judgment

*Bear witness/

testimony

c. Against Gnostics: Two aspects of his theology—high value of Scripture and belief

that tradition was passed through the apostles to the bishops—work together to

argue against the Gnostics

i. It was the responsibility of the bishops (aka elder, overseer, presbyter) to

ensure the apostolic teaching is what was preached. Irenaeus writes, “The

teaching of the Apostles is the true gnosis [knowledge]. And we have the ancient

constitution of the Church universal, and the character of the body of Christ in

the successions of the bishops to whom they [the Apostles] entrusted the Church

in each place, which has come down to us with its safeguard of the Scriptures in

the fullness and soundness of their interpretation, without addition or

5

subtraction, an untampered text with a lawful and careful scriptural exposition,

and the supreme gift of love, which is more precious than knowledge, more

illustrious than prophecy, and more excellent than all other gifts.”

I. Marcionism

1. Around AD 140, Marcion, the son of an elder, was removed from fellowship with the

church on account of his theology.

2. Marcion claimed that the God of the Jewish people was a lower deity, relating him to the

Gnostic notion of the creator of the physical world, which is evil.

3. He saw four contrasts in Scripture

a. Law/gospel

b. Works/grace

c. OT/NT

d. Yahweh/Father of Jesus Christ

4. Argued that YHWH gave the law encouraging works, with the highest hope being justice;

the Father gives the gospel and grace, with the highest hope being salvation.

5. Marcion’s canon rejected all of the OT and the gospel of Matthew; he accepted a

modified gospel of Luke and some edited Pauline letters

6. Response to Marcion:

a. Establishment or consolidation of canon (this would have happened anyway, but it

probably hastened the process of an official list)

b. Unity of OT/NT

c. Rule of Faith/Creeds

d. Succession of bishops

J. Justin Martyr (AD 100-165)

1. Life

a. Well educated in four major Greek philosophies

i. Stoicism, Aristotelian, Pythagorean, Platonic

ii. Still saw Christianity as the chief/highest philosophy

b. Martyred in 165 under reign of Marcus Aurelius for not sacrificing to emperor

2. Teaching

a. 1st Apology (AD 151)

i. Roman audience—government officials who were pagan

ii. Attempted to show that Christianity is reasonable

iii. Took Roman religious practices and showed how Christianity was not that

different in practice (ex. Sacrifice to emperorprayer to God)

b. 2nd Apology

c. Dialogue with Trypho the Jew

i. Dialogue with a fictional Jew

ii. Trypho represents common Jewish arguments to Christianity

iii. Quoted several Psalms that outline prophecy regarding Christ

iv. Jews as a whole would reject Jesus

v. Hebrew Bible is Christian Scripture more than Jewish because they do not

recognize the spirit that is in them, the true revelation of Jesus as the Christ

6

K. Tertullian (AD 155-225)

1. Life

a. A lawyer by trade in Carthage, North Africa

b. 1st major Christian theologian writing in Latin

c. Had some common interests with Montanism

i. Spirit—forgotten person in Trinity

(1) Montanists went to extreme, Tertullian did not

ii. Ethics—strong emphasis on pure life

(1) Stricter fasts, prohibiting second marriage, etc.

2. Teaching

a. Anti-philosophy—What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?

b. Clarify orthodoxy—Trinity, Rule of Faith

i. Attacked modalism; explained the Trinity as one substance (deity) expressed in

three persons (Father, Son, and Spirit); distinct, but not divided

ii. “The Rule of Faith—to state here and now what we maintain—is of course that

by which we believe that there is but on God, who is none other than the Creator

of the world, who produced everything from nothing through his Word, sent

forth before all things; that this Word is called his Son, and in the Name of God

was seen in diverse ways by the patriarchs, was ever heard in the prophets and

finally was brought down by the Spirit and Power of God the Father into the

Virgin Mary, was made flesh in her womb, was born of her and lived as Jesus

Christ; who thereafter proclaimed a new law and a new promise of the kingdom

of heaven, worked miracles, was crucified, on the third day rose again, was

caught up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father; that he sent

in his place the power of the Holy Spirit to guide believers; that he will come

with glory to take the saints up into the fruition of the life eternal and the

heavenly promises and to judge the wicked to everlasting fire, after the

resurrection of both good and evil with the restoration of their flesh. This Rule,

taught (as will be proved) by Christ, allows of no questions among us, except

those which heresies introduce and which make heretics.”—Tertullian, The

Prescriptions Against the Heretics.

c. Disciple’s Baptism—beliefteaching discipleshipbaptism

L. Montanism (New Prophet Movement)

1. Began in Phrygia (central Turkey) with the prophesying of Prisca, Maximilla, and

Montanus.

2. They emphasized the Holy Spirit and practiced radical self-denial.

3. Why was it counted a heresy by the early church?

a. The New Prophets did make some false predictions.

b. The New Prophets called for stricter moral standards than the Scriptures. They

banned marriage, required frequent fasts, and denied physical pleasures to focus on

the spiritual realm.

M. Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-215)

1. Pupil of various philosophers and Pantaneus, the bishop of Alexandria

7

2. Became bishop of Alexandria himself around AD 200

3. Teaching

a. Philosophy is a legitimate tool to bring people to Christ

b. Allegory

i. Literal, primary meaning (historical occasion)

ii. Spiritual meaning (multiple levels)

c. Against gnostics

i. Knowledge is not the highest virtue; love is

ii. Used allegory in his arguments against gnostics

d. Rule of faith

N. Origen (AD 184/185-253/254)

1. Life

a. Born in Alexandria and a pupil of Clement

b. Asked to teach the catechetical school by new bishop Demetrius while under 20

years of age, but is removed when he tries to usurp some of Demetrius’ power

c. Extolled as perhaps the greatest Christian thinker in the Eastern Church

2. Teaching

a. Exegetical/interpretive method

i. Body—literal/historical; what happened in the text

ii. Soul—moral; various principles, behaviors, ethics

iii. Spirit—figurative/allegorical/eschatological; sometimes typological, always

Christological

b. Christ as the meaning of the message of Scripture

i. Both human author and Holy Spirit are trying to tell us about Christ

ii. Logos ~Christ

(1) Saw logos as bigger than Christ

(2) Only at the cross and resurrection can Christ be seen as one and same with

logos

iii. In Christ, God who is unknowable makes himself, and is still making himself,

known

3. Influence

a. After Origen, Platonic philosophy and theology are linked without challenge until

the 12th century

b. His Christological thinking had a huge impact on the Alexandrian school of thought;

emphasis on the divine nature of Christ becoming flesh

c. Allegory becomes fairly entrenched, dominating medieval thinking until the

Reformation

d. His language on the Trinity becomes the standard formation at the Council of Nicaea

O. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (AD c. 200-258)

1. Life

a. Grew up pagan and converted around AD 245-246

b. Became bishop by 248, and many opposed his appointment because he was a new

convert (1 Tim 3)

8

c. Endured persecution in 249-251 under Decius, then again in 258 by Valerian, when

Cyprian is beheaded

2. Teaching

a. Lapsed—relates specifically to persecution by Decius

i. There were many who fled or renounced their faith during the persecution, then

wanted to return to the church afterwards. They were viewed in three groups

(1) Sacrificati—immediately recanted faith and offered incense to emperor

(2) Libellatici—buy a paper to show they sacrificed even though they do not

(3) Faithful—unwavering confessors of their faith in Christ

ii. Cyprian wanted a middle ground that allowed some back into the church. The

sacrificati could be back in fellowship but not take communion until deathbed.

They could also gain admittance by withstanding further persecution.

b. Baptism—council met in AD 255 to discuss baptism

i. Two main responses

(1) Cyprian and the North Africans said the true church was required for true

baptism, since baptism begins the process of salvation

(2) Stephen of Rome said the minister or type of church did not matter. Any

baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is valid.

c. Bishops

i. What is the process for determining a bishop? (1) Rome, Antioch, and Jerusalem lost bishops to persecution, so this was an

important question

(2) People in the church can put forth who they believe should be bishop, but

for his appointment to be valid it must be affirmed by a group of bishops

(college of bishops)

P. Constantine (AD 272-337)

1. Sparks a new period for the church

a. Worship is free and open, even having some wealthy benefactors

b. Fervent theological activity

c. Political involvement by emperor

2. Rise to power

a. Diocletian saw a problem with succession of emperors, so he split the empire into

east and west and had an august and Caesar in each.

b. Four person ruling structure

i. Maximian and Diocletian as augusts

ii. Constantine Chlorus and Galerius as caesars

c. Galerius, however, usurped power from both Maximian and Diocletian, and

eventually promoted himself and Constantine Chlorus to augusts (co-emperors)

d. Galerius then appointed Maximinus Daia and Severus as caesars

e. To further buttress his power, Galerius captured Chlorus’s son to help keep him in

check

f. Galerius is often identified as the instigator of the AD 303 edict that led to the last

great persecution of Christians

g. Interestingly, he ends the persecution himself with the Edict of Toleration in AD 311

while on his deathbed. Supposedly, someone convinced him that the Christian God

had cursed him on account of his persecution of Christians.

9

h. Licinius takes Galerius’ place, but Constantine escapes, takes power, and begins his

conquest to get all the land under his rule

i. Constantine succeeded in taking the west by AD 312 and engages Maxentius at the

Battle of the Milvian Bridge

j. On the eve of battle, Constantine has a vision in which he sees the CR

k. He has the soldiers place the symbol on their shields before going into battle,

thereby calling upon the Christian God in battle

l. Constantine wins the battle, which begins his conversion to Christianity

m. Issues the Edict of Milan in AD 313 which gives Christians a semblance of tolerance

n. Engages Licinius in battles to take over the empire, eventually defeating him and

becoming emperor of the Roman world in AD 324

3. Emperor Constantine

a. Known in various ways:

i. Christian emperor

ii. High Priest of the Pagan Religion of Sun

iii. Holds this post until his death, but he is also baptized on his death bed

4. Constantine as defender of the church

a. Debated against Donatists

b. Called the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and ratified its decision

Q. Arianism 1. Arianism was a Christological heresy named after its main proponent, Arius.

2. Arius was a presbyter who clashed with Alexander of Alexandria in AD 318. He claimed

Alexander was a modalist, the belief that one God merely appears in three different

ways at different times.

3. Arius responded that the Father alone was God by nature, while the Son was God by

grace/designation, not nature

a. Entails subordination of the Son in both role and nature (different essence)

b. Son was lesser than the Father

c. Son was created by the Father

d. Jesus was appointed by God

e. Jesus was sinless, but perfect by practice and not by nature

4. Alexander gathers a synod of 100 bishops and excommunicates Arius for his teaching, to

which Arius appealed to the church at large.

R. Council of Nicaea (AD 325)

1. In response to this controversy between Arius and Alexander, Constantine calls for the

first ecumenical council. He issues invitation to the bishops and even helps pay their

way so they can attend

2. Representatives

a. Mostly eastern bishops

b. Emperor Constantine attended, and may even have sat in as moderator

c. Representatives from Rome, but not the Bishop (physical issues)

d. Arius, though he was a non-speaking participant because he was not a bishop;

Eusebius of Nicodemia was his mouthpiece, and largely accepted his position

because of his distaste for modalism

e. Eusebius of Caesarea—neutral middle

f. Alexander and Athanasius

10

g. Anti-Arians, modalists, mondarchians—Eustasius of Antioch

h. Perhaps as any as 318 bishops total in attendance

3. Decision of Council

a. Arianism is heresy

b. Nicene Creed adopted

c. Anathemas, including Arianism, added to decision

d. Constantine ratifies decision, though he may later have been influenced by Arianism

4. Importance of Nicaea

a. As the first ecumenical council, it set the precedent for how to deal with dogmatic

problems

b. Served as a symbol of imperial involvement in church affairs

c. Crucial development in doctrinal history

i. Adopting a creed with anathemas made it more than a confession of faith

ii. It became a test of fellowship

11

II. Era of the Apostolic Fathers, Part 2—Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (AD 325-

787) A. Western Church

1. Blasphemy of Sirmium (AD 350)—Councils subsequently held at Sirmium in 357-359

a. Sirmium was a city in Pannonia, a Roman province in modern day Southeastern

Europe (Hungary, Austria, Serbia, Croation, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

b. The “blasphemy” was when Constantius ratified Arianism as orthodoxy

c. Turning point of the Arian controversy—both its high point and beginning of demise

d. Four positions in the Arian/Nicene debate

i. Anomeans—Christ’s substance unlike the Father in every way (Radical)

ii. Homoeans—like the Father in some ways (Political)

iii. Homoousians—same substance (Nicene orthodoxy)

iv. Homoiousians—similar substance ; not so much pro-Arian as anti-Nicene

(1) Hypostasis

(a) 1 ousia—substance or nature

(b) 1 (Athanasius) or 3 hypostasis—personality from being

(c) 3 prosopon—person

e. Those who argued for 3 hypostasis were still able to support homoousias, thus

bringing homo and homoi-ousians under Nicene Orthodoxy and ruling out Arianism

completely (AD 362), though it does linger in the east (Constantinople)

2. Ambrose (AD 339-397)

a. Life

i. Bishop and Saint of Milan

ii. Interested in politics

iii. After the bishop of Milan dies in AD373, Ambrose sits in on proceedings of

choosing new bishop, gives speech on unity, and becomes bishop

iv. Not yet baptized

v. Sends letter condemning Theodosius

(1) AD 390—Theodosius exacts revenge on Thessalonica because of riots. Sends

pardon, then kills 7000. Ambrose will not allow him to come into church

until he repents of his sins at Thessalonica.

b. Influence

i. Position of bishops increase, especially over civil power

ii. Strong interest in monasticism—appeal of pious, reflective Christianity

iii. Introduced hymn signing into Western church

iv. Augustine’s conversion because of Ambrose’s teaching

3. Augustine (AD 354-430)

a. Life

i. Bishop of Hippo

ii. Born in AD 354 to a pagan father and Christian mother

iii. Education and Teaching

(1) Wealthy patron sees Augustine’s promise and pays for him to go to best

schools

(2) Liked Cicero and Virgil

(3) Taught rhetoric from 374-384

iv. Conversion

12

(1) Moved to Milan in 384

(2) Manichaen thought—Good god, equally powerful evil god, constant battle

(3) Went to Ambrose to learn his speaking style, not the content, but the truth of

Ambrose’s teaching inadvertently struck him.

(4) Experiences conversion and commits to celibacy

b. Major writings

i. Confessions

(1) Most popular of Augustine’s works

(2) Autobiography of sorts written as prayers to God

ii. City of God

(1) Augustine’s most significant theological work

(2) Focuses on two cities, the heavenly city of God and the earthly city

(3) Work of philosophy

iii. On Christian Doctrine

(1) This work focuses on proper interpretation and teaching of Scripture,

including oratory techniques to improve communication

c. Significance—Two Controversies while Bishop

i. Donatists

(1) Debate over church

(a) Caecilian, bishop of Carthage, ordained by a traditor, one who gave up Scriptures during persecution

(b) Other churches appoint rival bishop, Donatus

(c) Donatists’ pure church

(i) Kept pure by disqualifying unworthy bishops

(ii) Did not persecute other sects

(iii) Succession argument

(d) Catholics’ true church—Augustine makes a distinction between visible

and invisible church

(i) Visible

* One we see and might have connection with state

* Gathering includes wheat and tares

(ii) True if it maintains gospel, keeps practice of sacraments, affirms

Trinity

(e) Invisible

(i) Elect of God

(ii) Ones who life in City of God

(iii) Saved

(f) Augustine debates against the Donatists, who are condemned at Synod

of Carthage in 411 and upheld in Ephesus in 431

(2) Main points in the argument

(a) Baptism

(i) Donatists: must be part of true church administered by true bishop

(ii) Augustine: validity of sacrament not in validity of administrator.

Must be done in name of Father, Son, and Spirit, followed by life of

love

(b) Persecution

13

(i) Donatists: True Christians should not persecute other sects

(ii) Augustine: may need to be restrictions placed on sects to encourage

repentance and protect doctrine

(c) Martyrdom

(i) Donatists: true faith grows through martyrdom; martyrs strengthen

faith of others. Continued tradition of martyrdom by keeping

Scriptures.

(ii) Augustine: giving in to persecution does not show they aren’t

believers

(d) Secular power

(i) Donatists: true Christians should not cooperate with state to advance

its cause

(ii) Augustine: Why then did you appeal to Julian the Apostate for

protection?

(e) Freedom of conscience

(i) Donatists: state compulsion cannot be used because of freedom of

conscience

(ii) Augustine: true faith is compelled, but by God

(f) Cathedra Petri (seat of Peter)

(i) Donatists: have a legitimate bishop in Rom, just as Catholics (ii) Augustine: Donatists could not be true church because they were

new, with no connection to apostles

ii. Pelagians (see Pelagianism below)

4. Pelagianism

a. Teaching is ethically driven—Christ’s demands for Christian perfection were

achievable

b. Condemned by Pope Innocent I in 417

c. Condemned again at Council of Ephesus in 431

d. Pelagian teaching

i. Possible to live without sin

ii. Free will to choose good

iii. Original sin is example only—sinful environment

iv. Foreknowledge and predestination

v. Grace aids us in living without sin—makes it easier

vi. Synergism—God and man are both active agents

e. Augustine’s response

i. Christ’s atonement is necessary for all men; cannot live without sin

ii. Original sin—we were all seminally present in Adam and therefore shared in his

sin

iii. God-initiated, God-accomplished conversion

iv. Monergism—one worker in salvation is God; man is the passive recipient

B. Eastern Church

1. John Chrysostom (AD 350-407)

a. Life i. Born and raised in Antioch ii. After his conversion he became a monk

14

iii. Later assumed role of Bishop of Constantinople iv. Clergy didn’t approve of his reforming tendencies v. Eventually removed and exiled by Arcadia – east was powered by state, west by

church b. Teaching/Significance

i. Greatest orator and rhetorician of the early church (1) “Golden Tongue”

ii. Known for his teaching through homilies (moralizing, nondoctrinal sermons) (1) Preached over 600 homilies (2) Denounced and admonished wealthy and worldly living

(a) Share in the worldly grief of fellow believers (3) Christians should aspire to spiritual and heavenly things (4) Almsgiving

(a) Though Christians should give money, giving of time and spiritual health is greater than any monetary donation

(b) Emphasis on care for the eternal needs rather than temporal needs iii. High view of Scripture

2. Apollinarianism

a. Christological heresy named after Apollinarius

b. Apollinarius was the son of a presbyter, and himself may have been a bishop

c. Most of his writings are in fragments, so most of what is known of him is from his

opponents

d. Writes against Julian the Apostate (AD 361-363)

i. All Christian philosophers are removed under Julian’s reign

ii. Apollinarius argues that no one can know philosophy better than a Christian

e. Pro-Nicene and associate of Athanasius

f. Turns Trinitarian controversy into a Christological debate

g. Christology

i. Nature of the union between divine and human

ii. Diodore argued for human nature and divine nature fused

h. Apollinarius’ view

i. Says Jesus is fully flesh, but Logos takes the place of human mind

(1) Body and soul are human, but Spirit and mind is divine

ii. Human mind is corrupted by sin, so if Christ had this mind he would be

susceptible to sin iii. Word and humanity exchange properties and merge into one new nature, a

tertium quid (third thing)

i. Orthodox Responses—Gregory of Nazianzus

i. Christ redeemed what he assumed

ii. What he hasn’t assumed he hasn’t saved

iii. Mind needs redemption most

3. Gregory of Nazianzus (AD 330-391)

a. Life i. (Cappadocian Fathers—Nazianzus, Nyssa, and Basil)Born in Arianzus, a Roman

province in Cappadocia ii. Studied in Caesarea, Palestinian Caesarea, and then Alexandria iii. At age 18 studied in Athens alongside Basil, with whom he was closely

acquainted

15

iv. Became Bishopric of Sasima by the stern request of Basil v. After his father’s death, took on his role as Bishop of Constantinople vi. Finished out his years in seclusion and steadfast devotion until his death

b. Writing/Teaching/Significance i. Wrote 45 orations

(1) The Five Theological Orations (most significant and pertaining to the Trinity) (2) The Two Invectives Against Julian (3) Moral Orations (4) The Festal Orations (5) Panegyrics on Saints (6) Funeral Orations on Eminent People (7) Occasional Orations

ii. The Trinity (1) The Trinity is the basis of the whole of theology (2) Aimed to maintain the Nicene Faith of the Trinity

(a) No possible illustrations as it is incapable of definition or confinement by the human mind (i) Incomprehensibility of God and finiteness of human reason

(b) Articulated in a fashion understandable to the common man (c) His refutation of Eunomius, the Macedonians, and the Arians provides

the basis for modern apologetics pertaining to the Trinity iii. Though his main teaching was on the Trinity, he also taught on love of the poor,

the indissolubility of marriage, peace, moderation, Easter, baptism, Low Sunday, and Pentecost

4. Basil of Caesarea (AD 330-379)

a. Life i. (Cappadocian Fathers—Nazianzus, Nyssa, and Basil)Born in Asia Minor ii. Began rhetoric with his father then went to Caesarea to continue studies iii. Traveled to Athens where he studied rhetoric and philosophy for 5 years, where

he became acquainted with Gregory of Nazianzus iv. Studied asceticism (the practice of strict self-discipline and abstention) and

became a monk v. Made a presbyter against his own will in 364, pulling him out of the ascetic life vi. Deemed Bishop of Caesura in 370 with help from his father and brother Gregory,

and served for nine years until his death vii. Fight on Arianism

(1) Emperor Valens came to power in 364 (a) An Arianist (b) Wanted all in his empire to convert to Arianism

(2) Basil did not want heresy to enter Cappadocia (3) Valens sent his chief Modestus to change Basil’s mind, but when Basil

refused he went to confront Basil himself (4) When Valens saw Basil’s service, he was touched and left without punishing

Basil b. Writings/Significance

i. On the Holy Spirit (de Spirituo Sancto) - The Holy Spirit should not be considered lesser than the Father and the Son

ii. The Hexaemeron, a nine homily book analyzing the creation account iii. For his opposition of Arianism, known for the victory of Nicene orthodoxy in the

east empire

16

5. Gregory of Nyssa (AD 331-395)

a. Life i. (Cappadocian Fathers—Nazianzus, Nyssa, and Basil)Most likely born in

Caesarea and educated by his brother Basil ii. Bishop of Nyssa in 372 iii. Present at the Synod of Constantinople

b. Teaching/Writings/Significance i. Recognized for being the best “prolific thinker” of the Cappadocian Fathers ii. Wrote many pieces including: A Commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, eight Homilies

on the Beatitudes, eight Homilies on Ecclesiastes, a treatise On the Titles of the Psalms, a Homily on the Sixth Psalm, expositions on the Hexaemeron, and The Creation of Humanity

iii. Along with these, he wrote A Commentary on the Song of Songs and the Life of Moses, which were his two best examples of spiritual exegesis

iv. Distinguished between the literal meaning (historia) and the spiritual interpretation (theoria)

v. Emphasized the notions of skopos and akolouthia – higher intention or ultimate aim

vi. Scripture simultaneously conceals and discloses the Trinity 6. Council of Constantinople (AD 381)

a. Arianism and Apollinarianism both dealt with

i. Arianism still strong in Constantinople

b. Theodosius

i. Restore unity of the church

ii. Unity based on Nicene orthodoxy

c. Reaffirm homoousios

d. Anathemas added—Gregory insists Apollinarianism be added to anathemas

e. 2nd See—Constantinople (Rome is the first)

i. Rome is the capital of the old; Constantinople capital of new

ii. Angers Antioch, Alexandria, Ephesus, Jerusalem

7. Nestorianism

a. Nestorius becomes bishop of Constantinople in AD 428

b. Fiery personality and excellent preacher

c. Comes from being presbyter at Antioch

d. Teaching

i. Defends some Pelagians—appeals to emperor above the bishop of Rome to

reinstate them to their positions

ii. Rejected idea of Mary as theotokos (God-bearer)

(1) Mary could be called Christotokos (Christ-bearer)

(2) Unpopular position because of the growing popularity of venerating Mary,

and his view seemed to demean Mary

iii. Accused of adoptionism, though he denied it

(1) Adoptionism was view that the Son of God adopted a human body already in

existence

iv. Argued that Christ had a divine and human nature, and these two natures were

conjoined by the grace of God

17

v. This view protects the impassibility of God in Christ (could not experience pain),

as well as suggesting that in his human nature Jesus could sin, but did not, thus

becoming an example for us

vi. Seems to argue for a divine person and human person of Christ, which would

require two persons inhabiting same space, which sounds more like divine

possession than incarnation

8. Cyril (AD 376-444)

a. Became Bishop of Alexandria, successor of his uncle Theophilus b. Controversial leader

i. Jews – each thought they were correct and had control; after they broke his window during a protest, he drove them out of Alexandria

ii. Hypatia – a pagan philosopher who his followers had stoned c. Wrote many theological commentaries, including those on the Pentateuch, Isaiah,

the Minor Prophets, Luke, and John d. The Nestorian Controversy

i. Nestorius, later to become Cyril’s biggest theological opponent, became Bishop of Constantinople (1) Taught Christ’s “God” and “Man” natures were only associated, not one

person (2) Therefore, the term theotokos (God-Bearer) could not be used for Mary, as

she only bore the man nature which was associated with the God nature and not God himself

ii. Cyril wrote to Nestorius, correcting him, deeming his teaching heretical, and anathematizing him (1) Stressed the unity of Christ – incarnation is the plan of salvation

iii. Nestorius responded calling Cyril a heretic iv. A bloody mess of councils ensued (Council of Ephesus, Council of

Constantinople), but Cyril was eventually deemed orthodox and Nestorius deemed a heretic

v. Cyril was the symbol of Christological orthodoxy for years to come C. Christological Councils

1. Council of Ephesus (AD 431)

a. Controversy i. Begins with a controversy between Celestine, Bishop of Rome, who affirmed

Cyril’s position and Nestorius

ii. Celestine asked Nestorius to change views or resign, but Nestorius refuses

iii. Cyril writes a third letter with 12 anathemas

iv. Nestorius appeals to Emperor Theodosius II

v. Theodosius, interested in unity and hoping to protect Nestorius, appeals for

council to meet and for Cyril to lighten up

b. Council

i. Cyril gathers allies from Jerusalem, Rome, and Ephesus

ii. Nestorius is bishop of Constantinople and is supported by John of Antioch

iii. Cyril convinces Memnon of Ephesus to start on June 22 before papal legates and

John of Antioch arrive

iv. Council quickly condemns Nestorius

v. John arrives and forms rival council that deposes Cyril and Memnon

vi. Both go to Theodoisus II to get council ratified

18

vii. Papal legates arrive on July 10 and agree with Cyril’s view

viii. Theodosius arrests them all until he can sort it out

ix. Cyril’s group wins when Theodosius does not make a decision

x. Theotokos becomes the orthodox teaching

xi. 12 anathemas of Cyril are not condemned

xii. Nestorius is removed as bishop, spends four years at monastery outside Antioch,

and is then exiled to desert

c. Formulary of Reunion (AD 433)

i. A document between Cyril and John of Antioch that is a sort of compromise,

middle ground on the Christological debate

(1) Both phrases are appropriate:

(a) One person from two natures

(b) One person in two natures

ii. Credo of rival council at Ephesus—Cyril accepts it, though he makes some pro-

Alexandrian revisions

iii. Affirms Nestorius’ condemnation

iv. Rejects 12 anathemas because of harshness, not content

2. Council of Chalcedon (AD 451)

a. Context

i. Follows on the heels of a disagreement between Pope Leo I (the Great) and Dioscorus and Eutyches that led to Second Council at Ephesus in AD 449

(Robber’s Synod)

ii. After Emperor Theodosius dies, his sister Pulcheria takes over and calls for the

council of Chalcedon

b. Decisions

i. Dioscorus and Eutyches are censored (Eutyches is probably condemned)

ii. Great contribution of Chalcedon is the Symbol/Definition/Creed of Chalcedon

c. 4 Parts of Definition of Chalcedon

i. Demonstrates the need for another council

(1) Purpose of councils

(a) Christ gave all truth necessary to apostles

(i) Not creating new theology; clarifying NT and Jesus’ teaching

(b) Satan has caused attacks against church

(i) Address heresies since NT/apostolic times

ii. Council affirms orthodoxy of certain documents

(1) Nicene Creed, Nicene/Constantinopolitan Creed, Cyril’s 2nd letter, Epistle of

John of Antioch (Formulary of Reunion), Tome of Leo

(2) Setting up parameters rather than narrow line

iii. Denied other christologies

(1) Double sonship of Nestorius, passable Godhead, Apollinarianism (confused

natures)

iv. Set out their own doctrine

(1) Credal statement

(a) Affirm two natures (Antioch)

(b) Theotokos (Alexandria)

(c) Four adverbs (not what it is, but what it is not)

19

(i) Without confusion (rejects extreme Alexandrians)

(ii) Without change

(iii) Without division (rejects extreme Antiochenes)

(iv) Without separation (rejects extreme Antiochenes)

d. Extreme Alexandrians who won’t accept Chalcedon’s decision are beginning of

Coptic church

20

21

III. The Rise of Christianity, Monasticism, and the Medieval Period (~480-1600) A. Ecumenical Councils

Nicaea (325) Constantinople (381) Ephesus (431) Chalcedon (451) Emphasized the

oneness of God (Jesus Christ is homoousios

with the Father)

Emphasized the threeness of God

(Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)

Emphasized the oneness of Jesus Christ (Mary is

theotokos)

Emphasized the twoness of Jesus

Christ (two physes or “natures”)

Overview of first four ecumenical councils.1

1. Constantinople II (553)—Monophysite controversy

a. “One nature” doctrine

b. Argued that after the incarnation, Christ had only one nature, which was either

divine only or divine/human synthesis

c. Although it rejected Nestorianism, it allowed for Apollinarianism and Eutychianism

2. Constantinople III (680-681)—Monothelitism

a. One will in Christ: Christ has only one active will, the divine, while his human will

was passive

b. The aim was to mend the break between Chalcedonians and Monophysites, but the

position was said to fail in the same way as Apollinarianism, since a passive human

will means the Son did not fully assume a human mind

c. Condemned

3. Nicaea II (787)—Iconoclast

a. Use of icons in worship

i. Some say no

ii. John of Damascus says yes because Christ became flesh

B. Key Events/Movements

1. Rise of Islam (636ff.) a. Muhammad

i. Born in Mecca around 570 and later became a merchant ii. Around age 40 had a vision supposedly from the angel Gabriel in a cave while

meditating, and came to believe he was called to be a prophet and teacher of a new faith, Islam, literally meaning “submission”

iii. At opposition to his teaching, fled to Medina then later returned to Mecca iv. Died in 632 v. Left no successor, resulting in a divide in Muslims still existent today (Sunnis

and Shiites) b. Teachings recorded in the Qur’an (also Koran)

i. Submission to Allah ii. Importance of prayer iii. Obligation to help others iv. Directions for daily life

c. Spread to other cultures i. Mecca as a center of trade

1Based on Everett Ferguson, Church History, Volume 1: From Christ to Pre-Reformation (Grand Rapids:

Zondervan, 2005), 255.

22

ii. Muhammad received with enthusiasm in Medina, and Islam spread through Middle East

iii. Military conquest (1) In 629, Muhammad returned from Medina to Mecca with an army of 1500

converts and overtook the city without bloodshed, then forcefully converted almost the entire Arabian peninsula before his death

(2) Battle of Yarmouk in 636 solidified Muslim conquest in Syria and left all of Syria open to Arab domination

(3) A year later, Jerusalem falls to invading Muslim forces 2. Great Schism (1054)2

a. Also known as the East-West Schism b. Growing tension between the east and the west from the 5th to the 11th century

i. Disputes over papal authority ii. Language: Greek or Latin iii. Filioque Controversy: Latin “and the Son”

(1) The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, or just the Father. (2) West says both, and incorporates it into their Nicene creed in direct

violation of the command of the Council of Ephesus c. Disputes intensified until the final break in 1054, when Pope Leo IX

excommunicated Patriarch Michael Cerularius, and the Partiarch retaliated with a similar excommunication

d. Divided Christianity into Western (Roman) Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy e. Western and Eastern churches still separate today

3. Monasticism

a. Benedictine—St. Benedict of Nursia (480)

i. Organized a rule—strict manner or pattern of living

(1) 2 meals: fruit, vegetables, nuts

(2) Straw bed, cover, pillow

b. Franciscan—Francis of Assisi (c. 1209)

i. Vow of poverty

ii. Served as counter to priests who prospered financially

iii. Based on Matthew 10:7-10

iv. Became involved in the early university (scholastic) movement

c. Dominican—St. Dominic (c. 1214)

i. From Castille region of Spain

ii. Desire to teach Christian orthodoxy

iii. Adopted vow of poverty for a more practical, apologetic reason

iv. Study to refute heresy

v. Interest in scholastic movement

vi. “Order of Preachers”

vii. Apologetically driven toward Muslims and Jews

4. Crusades

a. Six main reasons for the crusades

i. Divisions within Islam—weakening

ii. Success against Moors in Spain

2There is another “Great Schism” in church history in 1378-1419. This is when three rival popes claimed

absolute authority at the same time.

23

iii. Turkish Mulsims halted pilgrimages to Holy Land

iv. Eastern emperors appealed to the West

v. Growth of Monasticism—higher level of piety

vi. Increased interest in relics—desire for more (religious & financial reasons)

b. First Crusade (1096-1099)

i. Pope Urban II initiates this crusade

ii. The only one that can be considered somewhat successful

iii. Bishop Adhemar led forces

iv. Retake Jerusalem—Christian kingdom surrounded by Muslims

c. Second Crusade (1146-1149)

i. Muslims move to take Edessa, near Constantinople

ii. Crusade begins in 1146 under St. Bernard

iii. Massive loss of European life from famine and disease

d. Third Crusade (1187-1192)

i. Jerusalem retaken by Muslims (1187)

ii. Christians secure small strip of land along Eastern Mediterranean

e. Fourth Crusade (1202-1204)

i. Innocent III (Papal zenith)—most influential politically and religiously

ii. In 1203, he promised rewards to those who participated

iii. Plan was to gather in Sicily, sail to the Holy Land (strip occupied by Christians) iv. Western Crusaders were dropped off in Constantinople and took Constantinople

from control of Eastern Christians

f. Fifth-Seventh Crusades (1217-1271)

i. More political than religious motives

ii. Financial gain

iii. Ended in failure, as did the Crusades as a whole, as none of them succeeded in

reclaiming Jerusalem and the Roman world for Christianity and Islam continued

to spread

C. Key figures of Medieval Period

1. Benedict (c. 480-540): “Patriarch of Western Monasticism”

a. Established a famous monastery at Monte Cassino

b. Brought virtues of gravity, stability, authority, and moderation to the monastic life

2. Boethius (480-524/5) a. Life

i. Born into the family of the Anicii around 480 AD ii. After his parents died when he was around age 7, he was raised by Symmachus,

a prestigious Roman official iii. Married Symmachus’s daughter, Rusticiana iv. Became a Roman consul in 510 AD v. Became Master of Offices (“magister officiorum”) in 520 AD vi. Executed for treason under the Ostrogothic King, Theodoric, around 524/5

b. Writings/Teachings/Significance i. Most importantly, The Consolation of Philosophy ii. The Theological Tractates

(1) Because we were willed to be good by a good Creator, we are good iii. Translated multiple works of Aristotle

24

(1) One of his life goals was to translate all of the works of Plato and Aristotle and show the essential agreement of the two philosophers, however he was never able to complete this task

iv. He is commonly labeled as the conduit between old and new thinking v. Taught that the pursuit of wisdom, combined with the love of God, is the

primary provider of genuine happiness (addressed in The Consolation of Philosophy)

3. Justinian (527-565): Emperor of the Byzantine empire

a. Sought to regain lost lands of the empire (former Roman empire)

b. Compilation of civil law which became the basis of legal codes in Europe for

centuries

4. Gregory the Great (540-604)

a. Became pope in 590

b. Gregory fills the secular/political and ecclesiastical voids

c. Recognized as one of the church’s four Latin doctors

d. Gregory has a rivalry with Patriarch of Constantinople

i. Refused to recognize him as Ecumenical Patriarch because he said only the Pope

could hold that title

ii. Affirms the Pope as the head of the Western church

e. Significance:

i. Missionary work: sends Augustine (not of Hippo) to Great Britain to convert the

Anglo-Saxons

ii. Views on purgatory

(1) Place to work out sins before Heaven

(2) Masses are offered for those in purgatory to help them along

(3) Use of relics and other popular superstitions to confirm faith

f. Greatness as a pastor, builder of the church, popularizer of a modified

Augustinianism, a moral theologian, and a spiritual master

5. John of Damascus (c. 675-749) a. Life

i. Born in Syria to a Christian family around 675 ii. Father was a treasurer at the court of the Caliph iii. Taught by the learned monk Cosmas of Calabria after his father saved Cosmas by

purchasing him from a slave market (taken captive during a raid in Italy) iv. At father’s death, also held a position at the court of the Caliph and became city

prefect b. Writings/Teachings/Significance

i. Iconoclast Controversy (1) Debate on whether holy images should be allowed in the church (2) John defended the use of icons in worship (“On the Defense of Icons”) (3) Became one of the most important arguments supporting the use of icons,

and though the dispute went on after his death, his ideas served as vital weapons to instill holy images

ii. Wrote many sermons, including a sermon on the Transfiguration discussing the twofold nature of Christ and three sermons on the Assumption, the Catholic doctrine of Mary being taken up to heaven

iii. The Fount of Knowledge, the third part of which, The Orthodox Faith, summarizes Christian doctrine

25

iv. Composed multiple hymns still used today, two of which are still notably sung at Easter: “Come Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain” and “The Day of Resurrection! Earth, Tell it Abroad!”

6. Charlemagne (c. 742-814)

a. Rise to Power i. Born around 742 to Bertrada of Laon, oldest son of Pepin the Short, who became

king of the Franks shortly thereafter ii. Following their father’s death, rule of the Frankish empire split between

Charlemagne and little brother Carloman iii. At Carloman’s death and at age 24, suddenly found himself sole ruler of the

Franks, the largest single kingdom in Europe iv. In 800, crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III v. Died at 72 after a 47 year reign

b. Influence i. Defender of Christianity

(1) Guardian of the Roman church (2) Protected the Pope (3) Gave money and land to the church

(a) Built Aix-la-Chapelle, an extravagant church adorned with gold, silver, lamps, columns, marble, etc.

(b) Heaped the Church of St. Peter of Rome with gold, silver, and precious stones

ii. Expanded the Holy Roman Empire (1) Sought to restore Roman empire (inspired by Augustine’s City of God)

(2) Majority of his reign engaged in military campaigns (a) Conquered the Lombards (present-day northern Italy), the Avars

(Austria and Hungary), and Bavaria, among others (b) Waged bloody, 33 year long war with the Saxons, a Germanic tribe of

pagan worshippers who didn’t consider it dishonorable to violate any law, human or divine

(c) “Be baptized or die” ultimatum (i) Saw missions as part of his military policy, but received resistance

for demanding baptism for all conquered

(ii) Earned reputation for ruthlessness (d) Mission to create a unified Germany and convert subjects to Christianity

(expand empire and save souls) iii. First time in history the church created an emperor

7. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)

a. Wrote Cur Deus Homo (Why God Man) in 1098

i. Deals with the question of the atonement and incarnation

ii. Satisfaction/propitiation theory

(1) Payment made to God through sacrifice

(a) Man commits sin against Goddebt owed to God

(b) Humans sinnedonly human can offer payment of satisfaction

(c) Impossible for finite humans to pay infinite penaltythe best a man can

do in theory is perfect obedience, but this is duty, not payment

(d) Only God can make a God-satisfying paymentyet He cannot do so by

canceling debt, or He would not deliver justice

(e) God-man is needed to make satisfaction

26

b. Ontological argument

i. P1: It is greater for a thing to exist in the mind and in reality than to exist in the

mind alone

ii. P2: ‘God’ means ‘that than which a greater cannot be thought’

iii. P3: Suppose God exists in the mind but not in reality

iv. P4: Then a being greater than God could be thought (one that has all the qualities

our thought of God has plus real existence)

v. P5: But this is impossible, because God is ‘that than which a greater cannot be

thought’

vi. Conclusion: Therefore, God exists in the mind and in reality

8. Peter Abelard (1079-1142)

a. Studied under realist philosophy (William of Champeaux)

b. Sic et Non

i. 158 Theological Questions

ii. Sources/authorities

iii. No conclusions—liked to show contrasts between sources

(1) Troubling to Catholic theology which built church on Scripture and tradition

iv. Teaching

(1) Atonement: moral influence theory

(a) Christ is not paying a debt to anyone (b) Death shows us the supreme example of God’s love

(c) Should inspire in us a change in thinking

(d) God sees our changed attitude and responds with forgiveness

(e) Christ as intercessor—helps God see our changed hearts

(2) Ethics

(a) Act, not intent, was important (normal view)

(b) Both good and evil acts are based on intention

(c) If one intends to do good, God rewards

(d) If one intends evil, God punishes

(e) Man could not be guilty of Adam’s sin because they did not have

intention

(f) However, there is a corrupted will (predisposed toward evil)

9. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) a. Life

i. Born in 1090 in Fontaines-les-Dijon, a castle in France ii. Following his mother’s death, entered the Cistercian monastery, along with 30 of

his relatives at age 23 iii. Sent with 12 other monks in 1115 to begin a new monastery which was known

as the Abbey of Clairvaux, of which he became Abbott iv. Sent forth groups regularly to begin new monasteries, personally overseeing the

establishment of 65 of the 300 Cistercian monasteries founded during his 38 years as an abbot

v. Died in 1153 at the age of 63 b. Writings/Teachings/Significance

i. Wrote many letters, treatises, sermons, and hymns, including The Eighty-Six Sermons on Song of Songs and On the Love of God

27

ii. Laid a solid foundation for spiritual life with his writings on grace, free will, humility, and love

iii. Believed to have performed miracles, his first restoring speech to a mute who was then able to make his first confession in 1121

iv. Credited with ending a schism in the Church caused by a dispute over the election of the new Pope following the death of Honorius II between Anacletus II and Innocent II, who would become the new Pope

v. Preached and aroused enthusiasm for the Second Crusade at the request of Pope Eugene III, but it ended in failure

10. Peter Lombard (1095-1159)

a. Typical scholastic

b. School at St. Victor in Paris—monastic school that becomes scholastic

c. Chair of theology at Notre Dame (1135-1159)

d. Great achievement

i. Four Books of Sentences

(1) Overview of theology

(2) Becomes the systematic theology textbook in universities from 1130-1530

(3) Structure

(a) Question

(b) Sources/authorities

(c) Conclusions

e. 4th Lateran Council of 1215 affirms most of Lombard’s positions

11. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) a. Life

i. Born in Assisi in 1181 to a wealthy family ii. At 20, he was captured while in the army for a year and almost died from illness iii. Had a dream from God telling him to “follow the master, not the man” iv. Abandoned his inheritance and began teaching, preaching, and helping the poor

and sick v. His father disowned him for his choice of lifestyle vi. Gained many followers and opened Friars Minor in 1212 for his followers vii. He and his followers lived in extreme poverty because of the poverty of Christ viii. Received the stigmata (marks from the wounds of Christ’s crucifixion) in 1224 ix. Died in 1226

b. Writings/Teachings/Significance i. Taught that Christians were to take the lowest place in society and serve others ii. Wrote the “Canticle of Brother Sun,” a hymn rejoicing and conveying his

experience of God and brotherhood through the created order iii. In 1223, created the first nativity scene in the Italian village of Grecio with a

manger and an ox and donkey 12. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274)

a. Known as the “angelic doctor” by the church and the “dumb ox” by his schoolmates

b. Dominican monk

c. Studied under Albert the Great

d. Went to the University of Paris and became a professor in 1256

e. Main works

i. Summa Theologica—systematic theology—faith and reason

(1) Reason can precede faith

28

(2) Some things can be known purely by reason, including God

(3) Saving knowledge of God requires faith

(a) Things known through faith and revelation include the incarnation and

the Trinity

(4) Provides the most extensive arguments of Lombard’s view on sacraments

(5) Five Ways—arguments for the existence of God

ii. Summa Contra Gentiles—apologetic aimed at those outside the faith (Muslims)

13. John Duns Scotus (1266-1308) a. Life

i. Born in 1266 in Roxburgh ii. “Scotus” a sort of nickname-identifies him as a Scot iii. Ordained to the priesthood in the Order of Friars Minor—the Franciscans—at

Saint Andrew's Priory in Northampton, England, on in 1291 iv. Studied at Oxford, where he later taught theology v. Transferred to the Franciscan stadium at Cologne in 1307, where he served as a

lector, before dying a year later at the age of 42 b. Writings/Teachings/Significance

i. Wrote many theological works, which include Opus Oxoniense and Lectura in Sententias

ii. The Immaculate Conception (1) Mary, the mother of Jesus, was conceived without original sin (2) Her freedom from sin was a privilege given to her on the basis of Christ’s

future merits iii. Argued that will is superior to intellect and love to knowledge iv. Defends the necessity of relation against the presumptions of rationalist

philosophers, who claimed that man is perfect and can know everything by reason alone (1) All under the grasp of God’s power (2) Cannot reason without help from God

14. William of Ockham (c. 1287-1347) a. Life

i. Little known about his childhood, but believed to have been born in the village of Ockham, Surrey between 1280 and 1290

ii. Became a Franciscan friar at an early age iii. Studied theology at Oxford iv. Studied under John Duns Scotus

b. Writings/Teachings/Significance i. Most famous for the methodological principle of “Ockham’s Razor”

(1) Don’t multiply entities beyond necessity (keep it simple) (2) Eliminated many pseudo-explanatory entities (3) In other words, the simplest explanation is usually the right one

(a) A principle used by detectives to deduce the likeliest suspect in a murder case, or by doctors to diagnose a problem behind symptoms

(4) A nominalist – universal essences, or that which is not composed of “matter and form” like whiteness, are nothing more than concepts of the mind (a) Two pieces of paper: they are white because we classify them in the

category of all-and-only-the-white-things, not because they possess universal whiteness

ii. Academic Writings

29

(1) Most famous his Summa of Logic (a) Part one: terms (divides language into written, spoken, and mental) (b) Part two: propositions made up of terms (c) Part three: arguments made up of propositions which are made up of

terms iii. Political Writings including Eight Questions on the Power of the Pope and his

Dialogue 15. Thomas à Kempis (c. 1379-1471)

a. Life i. Born in Kempen, Germany in 1379 ii. Attended the Augustinian monastery before becoming a lifelong member of the

St. Agnes monastery at age 19 (1) Served as assistant to a religious leader (2) Trained the newest members of the monastery

iii. Ordained as a priest, writer, and copyist b. Writings/Teachings/Significance

i. While serving in the monastery, wrote a collection of four books called the Imitations of Christ (1) Book One: encouragement and admonishment of a strong spiritual life (2) Book Two: the interior life (stressing humility, peace, purity, and joy) (3) Book 3: internal consolation (the inward conversation that happens within

our soul (4) Book 4: Holy Communion (all topics related to communion and the

sacraments) ii. Main teaching was to imitate the life of Christ

16. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) a. Life

i. Born in Avila, Spain in 1515 and raised by pious Catholic parents with 9 other siblings

ii. Mother died during her teen years, and at 16 sent to covenant school by her father as he thought she was straying from the faith

iii. Joined the Carmelite Order iv. Soon after fell seriously ill with malaria

(1) People so sure of her death she awoke to find they’d already dug her grave (2) Suffered for 3 years, and never fully recovered

v. Worked to reform the Carmelite order and establish new convents vi. Died on her way from Burgos to Alba de Tormes

b. Writings/Teachings/Significance i. Founder of the Discalced Carmelites

(1) Discalced refers to being unshod or barefoot, pointing to the reform which took place to return to the old ways and attempted to uphold the highest level of holiness

ii. Wrote some of the most important works in mystical literature (1) Wrote about her own life

(a) The Interior Castle (b) Relations – an extension of the autobiography

(2) Strong emphasis on the mystic idea of perfect union with God, drawing from her personal experiences (a) Exclamations

iii. First woman to be named a Doctor of the Church

30

17. St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) a. Life

i. Born in 1542 in Fontiveros, Old Castile in Spain ii. His father was disowned due to his marriage of a woman of lowly standings and

died soon after, leaving the family penniless iii. Joined the Carmelite Order in Medina del Campo, where he met Teresa of Avila iv. Teresa had begun to reform the female side of the order, and needed someone

with the same intelligence, holiness, and sincerity to do the same on the male side, and she saw John as the perfect candidate. John accepted, and became one of the first friars of the Carmelite reform, receiving the name John of the Cross.

v. Spent 9 months imprisoned by enemies of the Discalced Carmelite Reformation, deprived of ample food and water, and treated among those who had been found guilty of the most terrible crimes, where he wrote some of his most exquisite poetry

b. Writings/Teachings/Significance i. Four major works

(1) The Ascent of Mount Carmel (2) The Dark Night of the Soul (3) The Spiritual Canticle (4) The Living Flame of Love

ii. Co-founder of the Discalced Carmelites

iii. His writings on mystical theology worked with those of Teresa to lay a solid

foundation for orthodox mysticism

31

IV. Pre-Reformation, Renaissance, and Humanism A. John Wyclif (c. 1320-1384)

1. Northern England; spent most of his time at Oxford

2. Teachings

a. Challenges transubstantiation

i. Christ is not physically present, but spiritually present

ii. Impossible for the substance to change and accidents not change

b. Role of clergy

i. Note merely observing sacraments, but preaching is the main responsibility

ii. Moral Purity so they can preach

c. Primacy of Scripture

i. Scripture is first and foremost for understanding theology

ii. Needs to be translated into common language

iii. Church does not have exclusive authority of interpretation

d. System of penance

i. Abuses to sacramental system (e.g. indulgences) ii. Keep church from involvement in money—don’t let them own things

3. Followers known as Lollards

4. Dies of stroke in 1384, but is condemned as a heretic in 1415. In 1428 the bishop of

Lincoln exhumes his body, burns his remains, and scatters ashes in river.

B. Jan Hus (c. 1369-1415)

1. Professor and preacher from Prague, Bohemia

2. Bethlehem Chapel

a. Appeals to common people in his preaching

b. As professor, he appealed to and influenced the intelligencia

3. Teaching

a. Anti-clericalism of Wyclif is his teaching as well

4. Council of Constance (1415)

a. Hus condemned as follower of Wyclif

b. Will not recant, so he is burned as a heretic

C. Humanism

1. Humanism is the segue to the Reformation. Most of the prominent reformers, including

Erasmus, Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin, have a humanist background

2. What is humanism?

a. Not secular humanism, which embraces human reason and philosophical naturalism

and rejects all religion

b. Humanism is a return to the sources

i. Unlike medieval scholarship, which lumped a quantity of sources into one equal

category, humanism went back to the original sources

ii. For Christians, the original source is Scripture

iii. Movement toward Scripture in the common language came from humanism,

regardless of whether humanists were directly involved

D. Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1467-1536 )—Dutch Humanist

1. Lectured in Paris, England, and Switzerland

2. Writings

a. First internationally known thinker because his writings were widely distributed

32

b. Well known works

i. Praise of Folly

ii. Handbook of a Christian Knight

c. More direct, engaging style than many other writers of his time

d. Works tend to deal with recovery of Christian virtues

3. Was Erasmus a reformer?

a. Many opinions, but no consensus

b. Addresses issues with:

i. Clergy corruption

ii. Moral laxity

iii. Luxurious living

iv. Political involvement of the Church

v. Yet he is not critical of deeper problems such as the authority of the papacy (for

instance, as Luther was)

4. Contributions

a. Produces critical edition of Greek NT in print (1516)

b. Impiety of the clergy, including monks (proud, ignorant, unchaste)

c. Ceremonialism—liturgy turned into empty ceremony

d. Translations—does not attempt, but his arguments lead others to do so

5. Controversy with Martin Luther over the nature of human will

Erasmus: Freedom of the Will (1524) Luther: Bondage of the Will (1525) *If one takes away human responsibility (inactivity of the human will) why try to do any better? *Father guides and helps us. He aids us in our endeavors that we could not achieve on our own. *A man can turn to or desist from that which leads to eternal salvation.

*Counters with God’s sovereignty (ALL-powerful One) *Human will is inclined toward evil; given free will, we always choose evil *God’s activity, in a sense, vibrates the world, and we move accordingly. We will move in sin unless God acts to change our direction. *Necessity (what we do freely due to our predisposition) vs. compulsion (something outside comes and effects change) *Can only choose God if God actively works in us to change our will

33

V. Reformation A. Four traditions in the Reformation

1. Lutheran: Martin Luther; Phillip Melancthon

2. Reformed: Ulrich Zwingli; John Calvin; Heinrich Bullinger

3. Radicals: Anabaptists (Swiss/S. German; Dutch/N. German; Hubmaier)

4. Catholic Counter-reformation

B. Martin Luther (1483-1546)

1. Background

a. Augustinian monk (1505)

b. Catholic priest (1507)

c. Professor of University of Wittenburg (primary role); preached sometimes

d. Luther’s early teaching on Lombard’s Sentences, Psalms, Romans, and Galatians

e. Took a trip to Rome and was disgusted by corruption

2. Luther before 1517

a. Luther hated the righteousness of God because he saw it as a standard to be

achieved instead of a gift to be received

b. By 1517, he was freed by the knowledge that it is by faith one is justified and by

which one should live (Rom 1:16-17)

c. God declares us righteous and the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us. Yet we

are not wholly righteous since we still sin

3. Luther in 1517

a. Archbishop Albert of Mainz borrows large sum of money and gives it to the pope for

St. Peter’s cathedral, thereby acquiring 3rd bishopric

b. Johan Tetzel, an indulgence seller under Albert, receives permission from the pope

to sell indulgences

c. On October 31, 1517 Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenburg

Church. It was intended as a scholarly debate on the abuses of indulgences by the

Catholic Church.

4. Luther in 1518-1519

a. Luther goes through a series of debates and challenges

b. In 1518 he challenges the Augustinian monks

i. Is there any authority in…?

(1) Scholastic sources

(2) Councils (Luther argues church gathered together is best authority for

correction)

(3) Pope

c. In 1519 in Leipzig, Karlstadt tries to defend Luther in debates with Johann Eck, a

professor at Inglostadt

i. Eck destroys Karlstadt for two days; Luther steps in

ii. Luther says Scripture is the only authority for the church

iii. Eck also gets Luther to say he was influenced by Hus (later this admission makes

the heresy charge stick)

5. Luther in 1520

a. Papal bull issued in June against Luther. He has 60 days after receiving it to recant. It

does not arrive until late October. In the meantime, Luther is busy writing.

34

b. Address to the German Nobility (1520)

i. Written while waiting for the papal bull (delivered in Oct)

ii. Attacks three walls

(1) Clergy/laity separation

(2) Pope has final authority to interpret Scripture

(3) Pope’s exclusive right to be over the council

c. The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520)

i. Published late Sept/early Oct

ii. Deals with the problem of the whole sacramental system

iii. Only two sacraments (baptism and Lord’s Supper), not seven

d. Freedom of a Christian (1520)

i. Published in November after receiving bull

ii. Justification by faith—key issue of Luther’s life

iii. Faith and freedom

e. Burns papal bull in public in December

6. Luther’s teaching

a. AUTHORITY: Sola scriptura—through Scripture alone

i. Scripture alone, not the pope, is the final authority

ii. Church councils can help protect against or correct wrong teaching, but

Scripture is the authority even in the case of councils b. SUFFICIENCY

i. Likewise, the Scriptures are sufficient and sufficiently clear (perspicuity) for all

things relating to salvation

ii. Scripture interprets Scripture

c. CONFESSIONAL: Priesthood of believers

i. All believers have access to the Father through Christ

ii. Recognizes the responsibility of the individual before God

iii. Sola fide—by faith alone

(1) We are justified by faith alone, not by our works

d. LITERAL

i. In opposition to a medieval four-fold hermeneutic, Luther argued for a “literal”

interpretation of Scripture. This approach does not deny figurative language and

a more full understanding in light of Christ. In fact, Luther argued that the literal

meaning was the Christological meaning.

e. CHRISTOLOGICAL

i. Christ is the message and fulfillment of the OT (and NT) Scriptures

ii. All passages should be read in light of their fulfilment in Jesus

f. LAW/GOSPEL=Commands vs. Promises

i. Law and Gospel are in both testaments (not OT vs NT)

ii. Law

(1) Convicts of sin

(2) Serves as a restraining force on society

(3) Nevertheless, by the law we are all condemned

(4) Thus, it drives us to the realization that it is by Christ, the promise of

Scripture, that we are justified

C. Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531)

35

1. Background

a. Swiss patriot

b. Abhorred mercenary trade for nationalist reason

c. Pastored in Zurich, and in 1518 becomes priest at Grossmünster

d. Humanist influence; used Erasmus’ Greek NT

e. Broke from lectionary to preach Scriptures in 1519

f. In 1519 he got the plague. He recovered and returned more resolved for reform.

g. Zwingli used the city council of Zurich to help reforms

i. First Disputation (Jan 1523)

(1) City council sets up a debate between Zwingli and Roman Catholics in order

to decide what kind of church to be

(2) Zwingli brings 67 Articles to the debate

(3) He argued for salvation by faith, the authority of Christ in the church, the

authority of Scripture above the church, and advocated clerical marriage

(4) The council sided with Zwingli

ii. Second Disputation (Oct 1523)

(1) Mass declared unbiblical as a practice (finally abolished in Zurich in April

1525)

(2) Declared images unbiblical

iii. Third Disputation (Dec 1523) (1) Affirmed former decisions

(2) Conrad Grebel, frustrated by the slow pace to the reform, becomes one of the

first Anabaptists (rebaptizers)

h. 1531

i. 5 city states attack Zurich and the city is unprepared to defend itself

ii. Zwingli goes with others to hold of the Catholics until the city was prepared and

is killed in the Battle of Kappel

iii. Catholics burned Zwingli as a heretic

iv. When the Protestants find his charred body, supposedly his heart is not burned

2. Zwingli’s teaching

a. Sola Scriptura—unless Scripture teaches it, don’t do it. Authority of Scripture.

b. Strong emphasis on the sovereignty of God

i. Predestination—God is omniscient and omnipotent (starts with this rather than

man’s depravity, as Luther did)

c. Memorial view of the supper—Christ is not physically present, but it is a symbolic,

memorial event

d. Original sin is more than disease which corrupts human decision—it passes on

original guilt.

e. Thus, infant baptism.

i. There is no grace conferred in baptism, but rather it is a promise that is made

that can be reflected upon belief

ii. Reminder to the community of Christ’s work

iii. Continuation of covenant—replaces circumcision as seal of covenant

iv. Baptism and social order

(1) Baptism marked entrance into the church and society

(2) Two ways to become a citizen

36

(a) Baptism into local parish makes one a citizen of that local area

(b) One could swear oath of loyalty to magistrate

D. Marburg Colloquy (1529)

1. Phillip of Hesse argued the best chance to withstand Roman church is for Reformed

(Zwingli) and Lutherans to unite

2. Succeeds in getting major players to agree to come

3. 15 propositions by Luther, 14 of which are agreed upon (also, 3 of the 4 parts of #15)

a. State church over believer’s church

b. Infant over believer’s baptism

c. Scripture over tradition

d. Lord’s Supper

i. Agreed on several aspects of the supper

(1) Roman Catholic mass was inappropriate

(2) Laity take both bread and wine

(3) Role of Scripture in the mass—preaching of the gospel

(4) Reject transubstantiation

ii. Could not agree on the presence of Christ in the supper

4. Despite much agreement, the division continues

E. Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575)

1. Successor to Zwingli 2. Large literary impact—Second Helvetic Confession

3. Founder of covenant theology

a. Covenant of works

i. God’s offer to Adam

ii. Man sins and cannot achieve

iii. Jesus (God-man) satisfies the covenant of works

b. Covenant of grace

i. Offered to man with promise that covenant of works will be fulfilled by man

F. Anabaptists

1. Balthasar Hubmaier (1481-1528)

a. Wrote greatest work of Anabaptists, On Christian Baptism of the Believer

i. Progression of Baptism as seen in John the Baptist and biblical narratives

(1) Word (of God—gospel)

(2) Hearing

(3) Change of life/recognition of sin (repentance)

(4) Baptism

(5) Works (from faith)

ii. Argues this pattern is so well established that if an element is missing you can

assume it is taking place.

b. Best trained theologian of early Anabaptists

c. Received doctorate in Theology while studying under Eck

d. Popular preacher in Regensburg before leaving for Waldshut and adopting

Anabaptism

e. Goes to Nikulsburg in 1526 where he has his largest influence as there is a huge

conversion to Anabaptism.

37

f. Hubmaier is taken with his wife to Vienna where he is tortured and burned at the

stake while his wife shouted encouragement

g. She was drowned three days later

2. Swiss/S. German

a. Zurich was a headquarters of sorts

b. Grebel, Mantz, Blaulock

i. Grebel breaks with Zwingli over pace of reforms, then begins to question other

doctrines/ordinances, including infant baptism

ii. Grebel won’t allow his daughter to be baptized in 1524 and others follow

iii. Grebel begins with an anti-paedo baptism view because he is against the age of

baptism. Eventually he moves to a view of believer’s baptism, recognizing it as a

status question, not an age question

iv. Grebel baptizes Blaulock in Mantz’s home

v. Jan 21, 1525=birth of Baptist movement

vi. Persecution in Zurich of these “radicals”

vii. Became fervent evangelists (Great Commission)

viii. Grebel, Mantz, Blaulock converted people around Zurich. Each was arrested at

least three times.

ix. Threatened with prison, goods were stolen, and were given chance to recant lest

they receive banishment or death by burning or drowning x. Grebel dies of plague, Mantz by drowning, and Blaulock tortured and burned at

the stake in Aug 1529

xi. The movement continues though all three leaders are dead in four years

c. Michael Sattler

i. Former Benedictine monk influenced by Reformed ideas

ii. Converted to Anabaptism in 1525

iii. Came to Zurich before moving to Strasburg (Bucer, Capito)

iv. Must have believer’s church to have believer’s baptism

v. Feb 1527—Calls gathering at Schleitheim to discuss movement

d. Schleitheim Confession—1527

i. Earliest Anabaptist confession

ii. Seven articles—deal more with ecclesiology than theology

(1) Baptism

(a) Repentance, faith in Christ, desire for discipleship are prerequisites for

baptism

(2) Ban

(a) Disciplinary procedure (Matt 18:15-18)

(b) Ban from Lord’s Supper, fellowship/congregation, and removal of

membership

(c) Christian life requires discipline and accountability

(3) Breaking of bread

(a) Done in group of gathered, committed believers

(b) Not to be partaken of in parish church

(4) Separation from the world

(a) Separation from Protestant or Roman Catholic church

activities/ceremonies

38

(5) Pastors

(a) Role is to shepherd his flock

(b) Financial support is to come from the congregation

(c) Immediate replacement from within the church in case of martyrdom

(6) Pacifism

(a) Christians should not be engaged in war

(b) Christian should not be a magistrate because it may require capital

punishment

(7) Oaths

(a) Christians should not swear oaths

(b) Could give affirmations or promises, but not oaths

(c) “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.”

3. Dutch/N. German

a. Münster Revolt (1534-1535)

i. Melchior Hofmann—radical, revolutionary leader

ii. “cloven hoof” hermeneutical pattern—literal and apocalyptic

iii. Hofmannite Christology

(1) Christ had a heavenly flesh that passed through Mary like water through a

pipe iv. Feb 1534—Jan Matthijs leads revolt against city council

v. Led council to expel from city any who did not agree with believer’s baptism

vi. Many men forced out, but wives stayed, and Matthijis declares “surplus women”

should become 2nd and 3rd wives of remaining men

vii. Bishops and protestants gather against Münster

viii. Jan Van Leiden (2nd in command) interprets Matthij’s dream and sends him to

sure death, then appoints himself king

ix. Calls the city “New Jerusalem”

x. Van Leiden believed in polygamy and expels any who disagree

xi. June 1535—two men escape and tell weaknesses of the city

xii. Bishop is ruthless, killing 800 of 900 men and more than 2000 women

xiii. After six months of torture, Van Leiden dies

b. Menno Simons (1496-1561)

i. Teaching

(1) Scripture focus—more literal; strict Biblicism

(2) Believer’s Baptism

(3) Pacifism

(4) Local church emphasis

(5) Ethical emphasis

(6) Ban

(7) Rejects predestination

(8) 4 Levels of Sin

(a) Original—corruption of nature, but no guilt

(b) Actual—sins done willfully with cognition

(c) Frailties—sins saints do contrary to new nature

(d) Apostasy—any true believer could commit this

39

ii. His teaching became the foundations of the Mennonite tradition

G. John Calvin (1509-1564)

1. Life

a. Studied law and literature in Paris; humanist influence

b. Conversion in 1533

c. Early on calls Luther “father in faith”

d. First edition of Institutes of the Christian Religion published in 1537

e. Farel threatens Calvin with wrath of God if he doesn’t preach in Geneva, so the city

council removes both of them in 1538

f. Calvin goes to Strasbourg and pastors French refugees, where his pastoral interest

grows under the influence of Bucer

g. Council of Geneva calls Calvin back because of Catholic pressure from Jacob

Sadoleto—1539 Reply to Sadoleto

h. In 1541, Calvin agrees to come to Geneva under certain conditions (Ecclesiastical

Ordinances)

i. Consistory (church tribunal or governing body)—12 lay elders and pastors of

churches

(1) No official political powers

(2) Ecclesiastical authority

(3) 1555 “revolution” (a) City council’s majority support Calvin

(b) Financial trouble

(i) Put up more citizenships for sale (10 times as many)

(ii) Most who take offer support Calvin

ii. Daily preaching services in city funded by council

i. Sets up Genevan Academy and creates consistory to work with city council

j. In 1559, Publishes Institutes in the form known today

i. 26 major editions of the Institutes during his life

(1) Latin, French, Dutch, Italian, English

k. Calvin’s influence pervasive in the Reformed tradition

i. Calvin’s Institutes seen as a systematic theology, but Calvin saw it as a guide for

reading the Bible

ii. Many commentaries

2. Teaching

a. Bible as the Word of God

i. Bible as inspired Word of God, revealed in human language, but confirmed to

believer by inner witness of Holy Spirit

ii. Close connection between Word/Spirit

iii. God speaks of himself in Scripture

iv. OT/NT relationship

(1) NT has greater clarity than OT

(a) OT is concerned with visible and material

(b) NT points to ultimate fulfillment of promises

(2) Shadow vs. substance

(a) OT presents truth with imagery

(b) NT is a direct encounter with truth itself

40

(3) Law vs. Gospel

(a) OT promises—points to necessary righteousness

(b) NT delivers—gives power/means of attaining righteousness

(4) Nature of appeal

(a) OT uses judgment, fear, and dread as common tools

(b) NT focuses on freedom and joy

(5) Recipient of revelation

(a) OT revelation relates to Jews/Israel

(b) NT revelation more universal in scope (nations)

b. Ordinances/Sacraments

i. Baptism

(1) Continuation of covenant (circumcisionbaptism)

(2) For the faithful and their infants

ii. Lord’s Supper

(1) True Presence (see four views of Lord’s Supper handout)

(2) Through faith in the communal partaking of the supper, believers are

brought into the presence of Christ and communion with Him

c. Sin

i. Original sin

(1) Not simply an inclination toward evil, but a hereditary depravity and corruption of our nature passed from Adam

(2) Sinfulness diffused into all parts of the soul, which first makes us liable to

God’s wrath and then also brings forth in us those works which Scripture

calls works of the flesh

(3) Not simply guilty because we sin like Adam, but in Adam (Rom 5)

ii. Total depravity

(1) Does not mean we are as bad as we could be, but that all parts are tainted by

sin

d. Christology

i. Prophet, priest, king=mediator between God and man

(1) As prophet:

(a) Christ proclaims the true revelation of God

(2) As priest:

(a) Provides satisfaction for sins in Himself

(b) Appeases the wrath of God

(3) As king:

(a) Dominion—Christ reigns at the right hand of his Father

ii. Affirms Christological orthodoxy (person of Christ)

iii. Emphasis is on work of Christ

e. Salvation

i. God’s purposes in Christ expressed through election

ii. Can be sure of election by our calling, coming to faith (Rom 8:29)

iii. None hears from the Father and learns apart from the elect

iv. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes

v. Election enables people to hear, learn, and come

f. Predestination

41

i. Election—God’s choice of a people or individual

(1) Limit discussion to what is found in Scripture

(2) Discussion of predestination, already difficult, is made dangerous by human

curiosity

(a) Danger #1: the Word of God is the sole way to illumine us and keep us

from rashness. It is foolish to seek predestination apart from the Word.

(b) Danger #2: Many bury and avoid all mentions of predestination

(3) Election is:

(a) Absolute: no merit or foreknowledge of merit; solely on God’s good

pleasure

(b) Particular: generally groups, specifically individuals

(i) Christ’s work: Does it apply only to the elect?

(c) Double: some to life (to show his mercy) and some to death/damnation

(to show his justice)

ii. What does Scripture teach on predestination?

(1) God’s predestination is to elect one to justification and the process of

sanctification

(2) Israel as a nation is elect, yet not elect individuals

(a) The very inequality of his grace proves that it is free

(3) The calling and election we have is in union with Christ (a) We then share in his benefits

(4) Predestination is an eternal decree based on God’s sovereignty

(5) Election is based on His purposes along, not on any foreknowledge of merit

(6) Election can be seen in calling, justification, sanctification, and glorification

H. Michael Servetus (1511-1553)

1. Tries to convince reformers of his position

2. 1553 published Christian Restitution (restoring true Christianity)

a. Great error of the church—Constantinianism, which brought about corruption of

thought/form

b. Trinity

i. Doctrine of Trinity false

(1) Imposed on people through Nicaea

ii. Three appearances of one God (modalism)

c. Baptism

i. Infant baptism had corrupted life of the church

3. Servetus arrested because of heresy, but escapes before punishment

4. On the run, he comes through Geneva on Sunday. He comes to the service, but he is

noticed/recognized, and Calvin has him arrested.

5. Calvin wants to use consistory for ecclesiastical punishment

6. City council takes over, finds Servetus guilty, and he is burned at the stake

7. As he is being burned, he cried out “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me”

a. Similar to Hus—may have been claiming he was wrongfully burned as Hus was

because he called for reforms society couldn’t handle

I. Catholic (counter)-Reformation

1. Many within the Catholic church seek reform: John Colet, Jacob Sadoleto (1477-1547)

2. Ignatius of Loyola (c. 1491-1556)

42

a. Military leader who is injured in battle in 1521. He spends one year recovering in a

Spanish monastery where he is converted

b. 1548—Spiritual Exercises

i. Manual for spiritual reform that includes four week retreat focusing on:

(1) Sin/results

(2) Christ’s life/kingship: this authority should be supreme for Christian

(3) Passion narrative

(4) Risen Christ

ii. This four week retreat tried to promote understanding, conscience, and

imagination

(1) Recognize vice (e.g. envy)

(2) Focus not on vice but corresponding virtue (e.g. gratitude)

c. Founded the Society of Jesus, also known as Jesuits

i. Personal monastic order of the pope

ii. Vow of obedience rather than poverty

iii. Missionaries and Apologists

iv. Founded for “whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God”

3. Council of Trent (1545-1563)

a. 19th Ecumenical Council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church

b. Trent sets the tone for Roman Catholic Church for more than 400 years until Vatican I

c. Three purposes of Trent

i. Heal schism

ii. Reform Catholic church

iii. Organize against advancing Ottoman Turks

d. Meets in three chapters

i. 1545-1547: some agreements, minor changes, disbanded because of plague

ii. 1551-1552: tries to include Lutherans, but don’t get a fair hearing

iii. 1562-1563: called by Paul IV; solidified and stamped by Pope’s approval

e. Issues

i. Scripture/tradition: affirms tradition as interpreter of Scripture

ii. Justification: justified by faith AND works

(1) Through observance of the commands of God and the church—keeping laws

and tradition

(2) Faith cooperating with good works (co-laborers)

(3) Increase in that justice which is by the grace of God and continue in it by

works (still further justified)

iii. Mass/Eucharist: value of the mass is in the act itself, not the worthiness of the

participants

iv. Clergy

(1) Hierarchy—bishop is to ensure reforms are happening

(2) Moral reform—strong emphasis on piety, morality, and ethics

f. Responds directly to issues of Reformers

J. Jacob Arminius (1560-1609)

1. Background

a. Educated at University of Leyden

43

b. Went to Geneva to study under Theodore Beza (1519-1605), who was a student of

Calvin

c. Merchant’s guild supported his education in Geneva

d. In 1588 becomes pastor in Amsterdam, where he is relatively “quiet” for 15 years

e. In 1603 he left the pastorate to become Professor of Theology at Leyden

f. Here he began to interact with his main opponent, Franciscus Gamarus

g. Gamarus was strictly reformed

h. Arminius questions predestination as Gamarus teaches it, thinking it was different

than what Calvin taught

i. His two main objections to Gamarus were:

i. Made God the author of sin

ii. Does away with genuine human freedom

j. This argument became a national debate, to the point that Gamarus said it could

lead to civil war

k. Arminius died in 1609, however, ending much of the struggle

l. Those who follow his teaching today are called Arminians and often set up in

opposition to Calvinists

2. Teaching

a. Atonement

i. Price of Christ’s death is given for all ii. Applied only to those who believe

b. Predestination

i. Misunderstanding of Gamarus—God wills to damn, so God wills to create

ii. Christ is one who is chosen, thus salvation through gospel preached and

believed

iii. Keep and preserve the elect

iv. Gamarus’ version repugnant to God’s wisdom, justice, and goodness

v. Sees in Gamarus’ view that God’s first act is damnation

K. Five Articles of the Remonstrants—1610

1. Humans cannot effect salvation. They can only will good after regeneration.

2. Believers in Christ who persevere will be saved, while the unbelieving will be damned

3. Christ died for all men, but forgiveness comes upon belief

4. Resistible grace—man dead in sin, quickened by prevenient grace—can believe or resist

5. Christ helps elect to persevere, but others can fall away

L. Synod of Dort (1618-1619)—known as the “Five Points of Calvinism” or TULIP

1. Total depravity: any good work is work of Holy Spirit

2. Unconditional election based on God’s good pleasure

3. Limited atonement: Christ died only for the elect

4. Irresistible grace: certain and true calling

5. Perseverance of elect: preserved by the Holy Spirit

44

45

VI. Protestantism: Anglicans, Separatists, and Puritans A. Early Protestant Confessions

1. Many Reformed confessions soon after the Reformation

a. Tetrapolitan (“four cities”)—1530

i. First confession of the Reformed church

ii. Written by followers of Zwingli, primarily Martin Bucer

b. First Confession of Basel—1534

c. 1st Helvetic Confession—1536

i. Also known as the Second Confession of Basel

ii. Written in Latin by Heinrich Bullinger with the aid of many others, including

Bucer

d. 2nd Helvetic Confession—1562

i. Written in Latin by Bullinger in private, but found and translated into German

where it became popular with Swiss churches

e. Heidelberg Catechism—1563

i. A series of 129 questions and answers divided into three parts

(1) The Misery of Man

(2) The Redemption of Man

(3) The Gratitude Due from Man

2. Westminster Confession (1647)

a. Widely accepted in Reformed tradition

b. Passed by Westminster Assembly and approved by Parliament

c. During time of Oliver Cromwell’s Protectorate

d. American Reformed tradition (especially the New England Puritans) was heavily

influenced by this confession

e. Influences 2nd London and Philadelphia Confession (Baptist Confessions)

B. Anglicanism vs. English Puritanism

1. Anglicans:

a. Well-known for their belief in a middle way between Protestants and Catholics.

They retained much of the tradition and liturgy of the Catholic church while

differing on key points of doctrine

2. Puritans

a. Sought to return to Scripture (Reformation sola scriptura) and purify the church

Issue Anglicans Puritans

Church Government3 Episcopal (role of bishops)

Presbyterian (elders); NE Puritans congregationalism

God’s Work w/ Humans

Natural law/theology Covenant (set form of obedience

to God’s stipulations)

Grace/Soteriology Cooperative view of grace

(synergism) Sovereign grace (monergism)

3We will discuss models of church governance in more detail in our theology unit on the Church. For now,

there are basically three: episcopal (arch bishop over bishops, each bishop over several priests); Presbyterian (ruled by presbytery, which is meeting of elders of local churches); Congregationalist (autonomous, local church alone, but takes various forms—e.g. multiple elders, single pastor, involvement of laity).

46

3. Mary Stuart and James VI

a. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was cousins with Mary Tudor.4 She ruled Scotland from

1542-1567. Mary Stuart was also Catholic, but she did not assert her religious views

as militantly as Bloody Mary in an Anglican country increasingly filled with

Reformed Protestants. Nevertheless, she did have a rivalry with John Knox and

removed many clergy from their positions, in addition to exiling numerous Puritans.

Some left willingly, going to Geneva, Zurich, and other places of refuge.

b. Mary was forced to abdicate the throne after her second husband died and she was

threatened by an uprising. Her one year old son James was officially installed as

king. She fled to Elizabeth, her first cousin once-removed for safety. But some

English Catholics viewed Mary as the rightful sovereign, so Elizabeth, perceiving her

as a threat, had her arrested. Mary spent 18.5 years in custody before being

executed on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth.

c. James was raised by Reformed Protestants after his mother’s imprisonment. In

1603, James VI of Scotland also became James I of England when he united the

kingdoms.

d. Puritans, thinking he would be favorable to their cause, produce the Millenary

Petition (1000 signatures) trying to push through reform

i. At the 1604 Hampton Court, however, James rejects all but one proposition of

the petition ii. The one proposition he accepted was an authoritative English translation of the

Bible, one that bore his name—the King James Bible, completed in 1611

iii. The failure of the Millenary Petition in seemingly favorable circumstances left

Puritans with two possibilities—separate or try harder for reform within the

church.

4. Richard Hooker (1554-1600)

a. Anglican apologist, mostly against Catholics who argued for a Middle Way

b. Laws of Ecclesiastical Policy (published posthumously)

i. Defense of the Anglican position against Puritans and Catholics

ii. God governs universe by natural law

iii. Humans use reason to ascertain this natural law in relation to Scripture

5. Thomas Cartwright (1535-1603)

a. Puritan who became Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Cambridge (1569)

b. Cartwright argued for Puritan position against Vice Chancellor Whitgift’s Anglican

position

c. Teaching on Acts(receives opposition from Whitgift, including being removed from

teaching post within a year)

i. Modern church model should be 1st C church model (Anglican≠1st C Church)

ii. Do away with archbishop

iii. Bishop is spiritual position—thus responsibility is preaching, not governing 4Mary Tudor, also known as “Bloody Mary,” was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. She

reigned from 1553-1558. During her reign she reinstituted Roman Catholicism and was known for burning

more than 280 religious opponents at the stake. Her half-sister Elizabeth I succeeded her after she died a

natural death.

47

iv. Deacons to serve the poor—they are not lesser governing positions

v. Each priest should serve only one congregation, and congregation should choose

d. Cartwright’s Reply (1573, 1577)—written after he is fired; good summary of the

Puritan model for reform

i. Liturgy in Book of Common Prayer too Catholic

ii. Opposed prayers for dead, confirmation, and other ceremonies

iii. Sacraments should be linked to preaching—central point for Puritans

iv. Presbyters are equal and chosen by congregation

v. Ministers should have a stronger role in church discipline and shepherding their

flock

C. English Separatists/Baptists

1. Robert Browne (1581)

a. Father of Separatism

b. Advocated a local church covenant, a common theme among separatists

i. Argued that this was an appropriate response because God first covenanted

with us

ii. Covenant with God first, then with each other

iii. They can now ordain ministers, practice the sacraments, and start churches

c. Move from pure church idea to true church. The problem with the church of England

is not that it is in need of purifying, but rather that it is a false church 2. Henry Barrow and John Greenwood (1593)—London

a. Imprisoned since 1587

b. Both are hanged for treason

c. London separatists migrate to Amsterdam, which becomes a hotbed for separatists

3. Hampton Court Conference (1604)

a. King James rejects nearly all of the Millenary Petition, a document signed by over

1000 Protestant clergymen proposing changes to the church

b. Caused many to separate from the church to perform their own reforms

i. Puritan in theology; Separatist in ecclesiology

ii. Become Congregationalists

4. John Robinson (1605-1606)

a. Eventually moves to Amsterdam where he comes into contact with Barrow’s church,

led by Francis Johnson

b. Takes a group to Leyden to get away from turmoil (1609)—Arminian controversy

c. Remain in Leyden for 11 years, after which many leave for Plymouth (1619-1620)

d. Pilgrim fathers are from John Robinson’s church

5. John Smyth (c.1570-1612)

a. Often considered the first English Baptist

b. 1605-1607 covenant in Gainsborough (Robinson, Smyth, Bradford, and Helwys)

c. Migrate to Amsterdam in 1608 and writes “Differences between the Churches of the

Separation”

d. The following year (1609) he writes The Character of the Beast supporting believer’s

baptism

i. Church of England is a false churchfalse baptism

ii. NT practice is believer’s baptism

iii. Infant baptism in NT church is not same as OT circumcision

48

(1) OT has carnal (visible) and spiritual covenant

(2) NT—spiritual covenant is in full light; no carnal covenant

(3) Seal of carnal covenant is circumcision

(4) Seal of spiritual covenant in OT is Holy Spirit

(5) Seal of spiritual covenant in NT is Holy Spirit

(6) Baptism is not a seal, it is a sign—it points to a spiritual covenant and

spiritual seal

iv. Baptism is a sign of the covenant with God. Infants cannot make that covenant;

only believers can

e. Helwys and Smyth disagree on certain points of doctrine when Smyth is influenced

by the Dutch Mennonites, so Helwys brings some of the church back to England

(1612)—Spitalfields (General Baptist)

f. John Smyth dies in 1612 in Amsterdam from TB and the remaining members of his

church join the Dutch Mennonite church

g. 1638—Particular Baptists (hold to Limited Atonement—more Reformed); by 1700

the majority of Baptists are Particular as opposed to General

D. Puritanism

1. Characteristics of Puritanism (from “Who Were the Puritans?” by Gleason and Kapic)

a. Movement of spirituality

b. Stressed experiencing community with God c. United in dependence on Bible as supreme source of spiritual sustenance and guide

for the reformation of life

d. Predominantly Augustinian in their emphasis upon human sinfulness and divine

grace

e. Placed great emphasis upon the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life

f. Deeply troubled with sacramental forms of Catholic spirituality fostered within the

Anglican Church

g. Revival movement

2. English Puritanism

a. William Perkins (1558-1602)

i. Life

(1) As a young man he was known for his recklessness, profanity, and

drunkenness. He was also fascinated by the occult and black magic.

(2) In college at Christ’s College in Cambridge, he experienced a powerful

conversion

(3) Served as lecturer or preacher at Great St. Andrew’s Church in Cambridge

from 1584 until his death

(4) He also served as a fellow of Christ’s College, lecturing, preaching, and

tutoring students from 1584-1595

ii. The Arte of Prophesying

(1) This work was a manual on preaching which bore the subtitle “a treatise

concerning the sacred and only true manner and method of preaching”

(2) Discusses a number of issues

(a) Method by which Scripture must be interpreted

(b) Set forth principles by which Scriptures must be expounded

49

(c) Describes various ways in which Scripture must be applied to various

kinds of hearers

(3) Divided listeners into seven categories

(a) Ignorant and unteachable unbelievers

(b) Ignorant but teachable unbelievers

(c) Those who have some knowledge but remain unhumbled

(d) The humbled

(e) Those who believe

(f) Those who are fallen, either in faith or practice

(g) Mixed group

b. John Cotton (1584-1652)

i. Christ the Fountaine of Life

c. Richard Sibbes (1577-1635)

i. The Bruised Reed

d. Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661)

i. Letters

e. Thomas Shepard (1605-1649)

i. The Parable of the Ten Virgins

f. Richard Baxter (1615-1691)

i. The Reformed Pastor g. John Owen (1616-1683)

i. Life

(1) Often called “the prince of the English divines”

(2) Entered Queen’s College, Oxford, at age 12 and studied the classics,

mathematics, philosophy, theology, Hebrew, and rabbinical writings

(3) He earned his BA in 1632 (age 16) and his MA in 1635 (age 19)!

(4) He was known to study as many as 18-20 hours per day in his teens

(5) After graduating he became a private chaplain and tutor

(6) He began his writing career at age 26, a career which spanned 41 years and

more than 80 works

(7) Despite his Puritan upbringing and vast education, he lacked a personal

assurance of faith until 1642

(8) Became Dean of Christ’s Church College, Oxford in 1651, later becoming Vice

Chancellor of Oxford University

ii. Major Writings

(1) Communion with (the Triune) God—emphasis on special relationship with

each person of Trinity

(2) The Mortification of Sin—sanctification, killing sin in one’s life

(3) Death of Death in the Death of Christ—limited atonement

h. John Bunyan (1628-1688)

i. The Pilgrim’s Progress

i. Matthew Henry (1662-1714)

i. A Method for Prayer

3. American Puritanism

a. Early Puritan influence in America

50

i. Plymouth (1620)—separatist Puritans from England (via Leyden and John

Robinson)

ii. Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630)—more than 1000 Puritans

iii. Connecticut, Rhode Island (1636)—strong Puritan influence

b. Characteristics of New England Puritans

i. Godly society—somewhat successful in this respect

ii. Favored congregationalism as opposed to English Puritans who favored

Presbyterian model

iii. Emphasis on covenant—blended three different covenants so political and

religious could come together

(1) Covenant of grace—God’s covenant of grace through Jesus Christ secured

our salvation and made it possible to establish a society of Christians

(2) Local church covenant—redeemed sinners can covenant (agree together)

and with God

(3) National covenant—new covenant people of God (like Israel)

c. Cambridge Platform (1648)

i. Determine the law and order of society

ii. Adopt Westminster Confession as proper theology (exception:

congregationalism rather than Presbyterianism)

d. Decline of the Puritan Way i. Half-way covenant (1662)

(1) A problem arose in which certain individuals in the community who were

baptized as infants into the church and the community did not affirm their

faith in adulthood

(2) Puritan practice required both infant baptism and a genuine conversion

experience to be a full church member (partake of Supper and vote)

(3) Richard Mather and a synod of clergy established the Half-way covenant as a

potential solution

(4) The covenant allows non-confessing “Christians” who had been baptized to

allow their children to be baptized

ii. Increased secularization

(1) Puritans are prosperous, and many Europeans come for this purpose (land,

goods, trade)

(2) 1691—voting privileges change from church membership to property

ownership

(3) 1691—king appoints governor (political position), rather than church vote

iii. Salem Witch Trials (1692)

(1) Puritan leaders were maligned for their involvement (20 deaths)

e. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

i. Life

(1) Born in East Windsor, Connecticut

(2) Raised in Congregationalist church

(3) Grandfather was Solomon Stoddard, an influential preacher and a member

of the synod that established the Half-way Covenant

(4) Edwards was the head of his class at Yale and became one of America’s

greatest early thinkers

51

(5) Known for study habits—~13 hours per day of Bible study and sermon prep

(6) Dismissed in 1750 from his congregation at Northampton

(7) Went to Stockbridge as a missionary to Native Americans in Massachusetts

(8) Agreed to become president of Princeton in 1758, but died one month later

from smallpox inoculation

ii. Teaching/Writing

(1) Reformed/Calvinist perspective

(2) Emphasized God’s sovereignty and the importance of new birth

(3) Freedom of the Will: argued the will was very limited; similar to Luther’s

Bondage of the Will

(4) Religious Affections, Nature of True Virtue, A Faithful Narrative of the

Surprising Work of God, A Dissertation on the End for Which God Created the

World, and much more

(5) Most famous for his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” which

he preached at Entfield, CT in 1741. Interestingly, he was unable to finish

preaching the sermon that day because of the loud, ecstatic outcries of the

congregation that forced him to cut the sermon short

(6) Edwards was fascinated by science and God’s creation and published several

scientific works in addition to his vast writing on theology

E. Early American Christianity

1. William Bradford

2. Anne Bradstreet

3. Edward Taylor

4. John Winthrop

5. John Cotton

6. Roger Williams

7. Anne Hutchinson

8. George Fox

9. William Penn

10. Increase and Cotton Mather

11. Solomon Stoddard

12. Samuel Sewall

F. British Revival

1. John Wesley (1703-1791) a. Life

i. Educated at Oxford, adept at a number of languages, and appreciated classical

culture

ii. Became interested in the writings of the church fathers and also read German

mystics

iii. Ordained as a priest in the Anglican Church in 1728

iv. Returned to Oxford in 1729 and joined his brother Charles in his group, known

as the “Holy Club”

v. 1737—John and brother Charles travel to Georgia as a missionary for the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts

52

vi. Meet Moravians on ship and is impressed that they, unlike himself, did not fear

for their lives when a series of storms nearly overtook the ship

vii. Their trip is a failure and he returned home in 1738 questioning his faith and

ministry

viii. He meets Peter Boehler, a Moravian, on the return journey who tells him that

the two signs of conversion were “dominion over sin, and constant peace from a

sense of forgiveness”

ix. Wesley’s faith is renewed and he begins a movement called Methodism

x. Wesley preached thousands of sermons, sometimes 3-5 times a day

b. Methodist Revival

i. Methodism began as a movement within the Anglican church (Wesley wanted to

remain within church), but eventually became its own denomination (1792)

after Wesley’s death

ii. Methodism emphasized discipline, life of self-denial, piety, fasting, good deeds,

ministering to the poor, visiting prisoners, attending to the Eucharist, engaging

in regular prayer and Bible study, and method of preaching gospel

2. George Whitefield (1714-1770)

a. Penbroke College

b. “Holy Club” with Wesleys—encourage individual righteousness and life of piety

c. Ordained as an Anglican minister, but most of his opportunities to preach were closed to him after trying to establish an orphanage in Savannah, Georgia, led many

to view him as a gospel “enthusiast”

d. Consequently, he began open air preaching and was known for preaching with

fervor

e. Made seven trips to American colonies as an evangelist and organizer of the

Savannah orphanage

f. In 1740 Whitefield toured New England, preaching 175 sermons in 45 days as he

traveled around and preached to large crowds.

g. Whitefield’s preaching impressed not only the crowds, but important preachers like

Jonathan Edwards as well, and it became a key factor in the First Great Awakening

G. Great Awakening (read about this in Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George Marsden)

H. Missions Movement

1. William Carey (1761-1834)—British Baptist

a. Life

i. Spent the final 30 years of his life in India

ii. Became a Baptist at age 22

iii. Pastor in Moulton in 1787

iv. Carey and Andrew Fuller preach mission-minded sermons at Northampton

Baptist Association meeting (1791)

v. Baptist Missionary Society established (1792)

(1) Appoints first missionary, John Thomas, in 1793

(2) Carey asks and is permitted to go along with Thomas

b. Teaching, Preaching, and Writing

i. An Enquiry into Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the

Heathens

(1) Great Commission applies to modern Christians

53

(2) History of missions—NT apostles, church history, Moravians

(3) Religious affiliations of world population

(a) 731 million people in world

(b) ~58% Pagan, 18% Muslim, 14% Catholic, 6% Protestant, 4% Orthodox,

1% Jewish

(c) More than 75% of world population expressly in need of missions

(d) If Baptists would die for proper baptism, why not for missions?

(4) Barriers to reaching foreign nations

(a) Distance

(b) “Savage” lifestyle—cultural differences

(c) Life endangerment

(d) Life necessities

(e) Language

(f) All of these barriers have been around since the Great Commission

(5) Method

(a) Pray

(b) Plan

(i) Missionary society

(ii) Mission teams

(c) Pay (i) Individuals in churches should support financially

ii. “Deathless Sermon”

(1) Preached on Isaiah 54

(2) Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God

2. Charles Finney (1792-1875)

a. Life

i. Lawyer from New York

ii. Left to become minister in 1821, and began regular preaching and evangelism in

1824

iii. Held revival meetings in North and West New York

iv. 1825-1831: Revival meetings elongated (Rochester, Sept 1830-March 1831)

v. Professor at Oberlin College (1835); President of Oberlin (1851)

vi. At age 80 he stepped down from pastorate and presidency but still taught and

held revivals

b. Finney’s Technique

i. Daily prayer meetings

(1) Seeking of God

(2) Preparatory occasion leading to acceptance of message

ii. Anxious seat

(1) Procedure to get agitated sinners to come forward and let deacons pray for

them

iii. Enquiry meetings

(1) Personal conversations—ask people about their spiritual state and condition

iv. Protracted meetings

(1) Revival services should last at least one week and involve several ministers

54

(2) Occur every day for several hours, though not normally into night because it

would discourage prayer

c. Lectures on Revivals (1834)—talked about preaching and ways to encourage revival

i. Practical

ii. Direct—gospel preached to men, not about them

iii. Some doctrines better left undiscussed

iv. Do not introduce controversy

v. Gospel should be preached so whole gospel is presented to all

(1) Needs to level out the teaching—stay balanced

(2) Doctrine had moved too much to providence—emphasized human will to

even out

vi. Sinners ought to be made to feel that they have something to do

55

VII. Christianity from the Enlightenment to Modern Period

A. Logic, Reason, and Enlightenment Thinking 1. Rene Descartes (1596-1650)

a. Life

i. Educated at the Jesuit college at La Flèche

b. Significance

i. Mathematics

(1) Developed the Cartesian coordinate system that helped provide the first

systematic link between Euclidian geometry and Algebra

(2) His coordinate system also became influential in the development of Newton

and Leibniz’s calculus

(3) He was perhaps also influential in setting the stage for another important

French philosopher/mathematician, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) from whom

we get the Pensées, including his famous “Wager”, and Pascal’s Triangle.

ii. Philosophy

(1) Descartes most significant philosophical work was his 1641 Meditations on

First Philosophy.

(2) In this work he records how many false things he had believed and

expresses his desire that once in his life he could to demolish everything and

begin from the foundations.

(3) Descartes goes on to conclude that although his senses have deceived him,

and it is “unwise to trust completely those who have deceived us even once,”

he nevertheless can trust his sense experience with respect to himself and

God.

(4) Descartes is well-known for his famous dictum, cogito ergo sum (I think,

therefore I am)

(5) Not only can his sense experience and ability to think prove his own

existence, but Descartes goes on to argue for an innate knowledge of God.

Modern philosophers such as Alvin Plantinga have argued similarly, using

the term properly basic to describe belief in God

(6) Once one has come to an innate or properly basic belief in God, one can infer

the “inherent uniformity of the created order, a consistency that can then be

deduced a priori [not based on prior study or examination], via the universal

laws of mathematics.”

2. John Locke (1632-1704)

a. Often considered the “Father of Enlightenment”

b. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)

i. Limited knowledge—Ideassenseexperience/observe

(1) To know something, you must be able to experience it c. The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695)

i. Challenges enthusiasm—denies miracles

ii. Challenges Christian orthodoxy

3. David Hume (1711-1776)

a. Life and Works

56

i. Educated in Edinburgh, Scotland, but moved to France in 1734

ii. Wrote his most important work, A Treatise of Human Nature, while in France

(1739-1740)

iii. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748)

(1) Contains reworking of the main points of the Treatise, Book 1,

(2) Addition of material on free will (adapted from Book 2)

(3) Discusses the Design Argument and scepticism

(4) Of Miracles, section X of the Enquiry, was often published separately

iv. An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751

(1) a reworking of Book 3 from his treatise

(2) Hume thought this the best of his work

b. Significance

i. Hume was critical of Descartes’ work, particularly his rationalism and empiricist

faith in sense experience

ii. Hume, rather, argued that reason and the senses yield only subjective and

unverifiable perceptions of causal interactions that could actually be

coincidences

iii. Hume’s ethics rest on premise that reason is the “inert…slave of the passsions”

and morality is born of human sentiment or emotion in response to lived

experience

iv. His arguments against miracles were considered by many to be powerful and

convincing naturalistic arguments against religion generally and the possibility

of miracles specifically

v. He argued that religion itself was the source of violence and intolerance in world

history, an argument perpetuated in the New Atheists today

4. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

a. Critique of Pure Reason (1781)

i. Sources of knowledge

(1) Experience—experience stimulus

(2) Interpretation—brain must categorize knowledge

ii. Categories of knowledge

(1) Phenomena (a) Objective

(b) Accessible through experience

(2) Noumena

(a) Outside of time-space dimension

(b) Inaccessible through experience

(c) God and Christianity in this category

b. Critique of Practical Reason (1788)

i. Categorical imperative—moral obligation; emphasis on duty

(1) Three formulations

(a) Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will

that it should become a universal law without contradiction.

57

(b) Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person

or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but

always at the same time as an end.

(c) Therefore, every rational being must so act as if he were through his

maxim always a legislating member in the universal kingdom of ends.

ii. Life’s goal is to live up to categorical imperative

iii. Foundational principles established beyond phenomena

(1) God—one who put it there

(2) Immortality—man needs full life (and beyond) to live up to categorical

imperative

(3) Human freedom—must be free to obey categorical imperative

(4) Jesus is the best example of obedience to categorical imperative

5. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831)

a. Truth/knowledge is a process

b. Spirit is not a thing, but an activity or process

i. Potentialactual (process of becoming)

c. Dialectical thinking

i. Thesis—Antithesis

|

Synthesis (becomes new thesis)—Antithesis |

(Continues indefinitely)

ii. Knowledge=whole process, not just end result

d. Theological effects

i. Emphasizes immanence of God

ii. God needs world to become—not self-sufficient

iii. Panentheism—God is inseparable from world, but distinct reality

6. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)—Danish philosopher and theologian, often called the

father of Existentialism

a. Major works:

i. Either/Or (1843)—explores two competing lifestyles, hedonistic vs. ethical; it

essentially tries to answer Aristotle’s question, “How should we live?”

ii. Fear and Trembling (1843)—explores Abraham’s faith in relation to the story of

Genesis 22, the sacrifice of Isaac

iii. Works of Love (1847)—explores the New Testament agape love in contrast to

other forms of love; he particularly focuses on what it means to love one’s

neighbor as oneself

B. Religious Implications of Enlightenment Thinking

1. Deism

a. Attempted to incorporate ideas of Enlightened thinking

b. Response to atheism

c. Basic teaching

i. God created perfect world with natural order which would govern the world

ii. God steps back and lets it run (cosmic watchmaker)

iii. Argued against miracles because that would mean God’s creation and natural

order were not perfect

58

iv. Likewise, no special revelation (rejects Christian exclusivity)

v. Christianity is a valid religion, but not the only one

vi. Influential in the late 17th and early 18th centuries

d. Modern controversy over America’s founding often goes back to whether founding

fathers were Christian or Deist

2. Pietism

a. Emphasis on practical piety

i. Internal—heart change/conversion is important

ii. Individual—study of Scripture, prayer

b. Key theologians in this tradition:

i. Philip Spener (1635-1705)

(1) Need for reform by practical religion (collegia pietatis)

(2) New birth and pious living that follows

ii. August Franke (1663-1727)

(1) Experienced new birth as a result of a Bible study that he attended at Leipzig

University though he was not a Christian at the time

(2) Franke became professor at University of Halle which became the center of

pietism

(a) Theological training

(b) Orphanages (i) place where children are taught in religious atmosphere

(ii) most children in Germany are in pietist schools

(iii) prayer is heavily involved

(c) Missionaries

iii. Count Nikolas Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf (1700-1760)

(1) Life

(a) Studied under Franke at university

(b) Converted in 1727

(c) Gave Moravians permission to live on his land

(i) Moravians had missionary zeal—as many as 1 in 4-5 were

missionaries

(ii) Moravians had a significant influence on John Wesley

(2) Teaching

(a) Emphasized feeling, in opposition to reason, in the Christian faith

(b) His emphasis on a personally appropriated faith is expressed in the

slogan “a living faith”

(c) Christianity typically focused on assent to the creeds, but Zinzendorf

focused on personal, transforming encounter with God

c. Contributions of pietism

i. Emphasis on personal study of Bible and prayer

ii. Strong devotion to following Christ (interest in discipling)

iii. Intense missionary zeal

iv. Education for children and minsters (in theology and missions)

3. Relativism

a. Relativism, though rightly used today to express the notion that there is no absolute

truth, was a more specific tradition related to religious teaching.

59

b. Relativism suggested that true religion must be universal, that is, apply to all men

(Lord Herbert of Cherbury)

c. Five essential doctrines

i. Existence of God

ii. Obligation of Worship

iii. Ethical requirements of worship

iv. Need for “repentance”

v. Reward and punishment in this life and the one to come

4. Liberal Theology

a. Three stages of liberal thought

i. Hegelian categories—Straus, Baur

ii. Faith dependence—Ritschl

iii. History of religions—Von Harnack

b. Five Characteristics of Liberalism

i. Reconstruct Christianity in light of modern knowledge

ii. Freedom of individual to criticize and reconstruct traditional beliefs

iii. Focus on ethical dimension of Christianity

iv. Theology based on something other than absolute authority of Bible

v. Immanence emphasized over transcendence

c. Key theologians in this tradition: i. F.D.E. Schleiermacher (1768-1834)

(1) Born in Prussia, raised in Pietist background, studied at Halle

(2) Calls himself a pietist of the highest order

(3) Pastored several years in Berlin, then at University of Berlin as dean

(4) Wrote The Christian Faith (1821)

(a) Argues that basis of Christ faith is “dependence”

(b) Religious experience as basis of knowledge

(c) Try to share our experience

(5) Saw Genesis 1-2 as eschatological state, not historical

ii. D.F. Strauss (1808-1874)

(1) Educated at Tubingen by F.C. Baur who introduces Strauss to

Schleiermacher, Hegel, and others

(2) Life of Jesus, Critically Examined

(a) What is authentic about Jesus’ life

(b) Trying to apply concept of myth to the gospels

(c) Gospels are carrying primitive Christian ideas

(3) Influence of Hegelian philosophy

Peter’s Messianic Judaism (thesis)—Paul’s universal Christianity (antithesis)

|

2nd century Christianity—the gospels (synthesis)

(4) Miracles are summary/example of what the Messiah would be like—filled

with myth

iii. Albert Ritschl (1822-1889)

(1) Only Schleiermacher has more influence in 19th C liberal theology

(2) Organizes the whole system of liberal theology into new methodology

(3) Value judgments (governing principle for theology)

60

(a) Ethics of love

(b) Asks questions such as:

(i) Is it joyful?

(ii) Does it provide the greatest good?

(c) Kingdom of God is a moral community

(d) Jesus is the best ideal of the highest good

iv. (Carl Gustav) Adolf Von Harnack (1851-1930)—German Lutheran theologian

(1) Taught at the University of Berlin for 33 years

(2) History of Dogma

(a) How church dogma was result of Hellenistic influence

(b) Jesus’ ethical teachingHellenistic influenceDogmatic theology

(c) As time progresses, orthodox boundaries narrow and become more rigid

(d) Must strip away Hellenistic tendencies to get true words of Jesus

(3) What is Christianity?

(a) Jesus is a man of peace and taught about the Father as the source of

peace=main point of Christianity

(b) Von Harnack argues that the Father is the focus in contrast with Jesus

(c) Three main points

(i) Coming kingdom of God invoked by Christian’s actions

Social order that demonstrates the kingdom ethic (ii) God the Father and high value of human soul

Universal fatherhood=universal brotherhood

More like than unlike the Father

(iii) Higher ethical righteousness

Commands Christians to love

v. Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918)—Theologian and Baptist minister

(1) Attended and then taught at Rochester Theological Seminary

(2) Advocated the social gospel movement

(3) Important works

(a) Christianity and the Social Crisis (1907)

(b) Christianizing the Social Order (1912)

(c) A Theology for the Social Gospel (1917)

vi. Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)

(1) Helped launch the quest for the historical Jesus with his 1906 work, The

Quest of the Historical Jesus

(2) Jesus’ life must be understood through the lens of Jewish eschatology

C. 19th/20th Century Responses to Enlightenment (Deism, Liberal theology, etc.) 1. Vatican I (1869-1870)

a. Rejects liberalism

b. Empowers hierarchy

c. Papal infallibility (ex cathedra)—Piux IX first to have this power

d. Immaculate conception of Mary affirmed

2. Vatican II (1962-1965)

a. Adapts Catholic church in radical ways, much of it due to the influence of Karl

Rahner

b. Karl Rahner (1904-1984)

61

c. Anonymous Christian

i. Humans have potential to relate to God

ii. People around world are relating to God (God-fearers) but without knowing

dogma of the church

iii. Changes missionary strategy—not bringing those outside of kingdom in, but

bringing fellow believers into teaching of Catholic church

3. Christian Realism—American response to liberalism, parallel to Neo-orthodoxy (see

below)

a. Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1970)—ethicist

i. Moral Man and Immoral Society (1923)

(1) Argues humans are corrupt and immoral

(2) Putting them in society only makes them worse

ii. Nature and Destiny of Man (1941-1943)

(1) Presents three dialectical relationships

(a) Sinner and saint

(b) Creature of the Creator and potential lord of creation

(c) Egotistical yet capable of living for others

b. H. Richard Niebuhr (1894-1962)—theologian with an interst in ethics

i. Kingdom of God in America (1937)

(1) Focused on sovereignty of God (2) Scathingly defined liberalism as a God without wrath brought men without

sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ

without a cross

ii. Christ and Culture (1951)

(1) Asserts five ways in which Christ relates to culture

(a) Christ against culture—Christiantiy and society are irreconcilable

(b) Christ of culture—harmonized; best things of culture can be adopted by

Christianity and assimilated into the church

(c) Christ above culture—Christ reigning over spiritual and temporal

realms; synthesizing

(d) Christ and culture in paradox—dualistic separation of Christ and

culture; need law to restrain evil

(e) Christ, transformer of culture (Niebuhr’s preferred view)—redeemable

quality in humans; godly society

4. Neo-orthodoxy (Karl Barth; Emil Brunner, Rudolf Bultmann, Reinhold Niebuhr, H.

Richard Niebuhr)

a. Main purpose was to reject the connection liberalism had made between Christian

theology and modern scientific culture

i. Tried to recover more biblical perspectives

ii. Followed many of Barth’s ideas, though they went a different direction

b. Five characteristics of Neo-orthodoxy

i. Transcendence of God

ii. Sin and guilt—prevailing aspect of humanity

iii. Christ as mediator

(1) Makes known the huge gap between sinful man and Holy God

62

(2) Gap between our humanity and Christ’s humanity, and yet how far Christ

has humbled himself (Phil 2:5-11)

iv. Revelation and grace

v. Personal encounter with God (Barth separates himself from this emphasis)

c. Key Theologians in this tradition:

i. Karl Barth (1886-1968)—Swiss Reformed theologian

(1) Life

(a) Born in Basel, Switzerland

(b) Professor of theology at Basel

(c) Spent 10 years in pastorate during beginning of WWI

(d) Argues liberals did not have a real/correct view of human nature

(i) As a pastor, he saw corruption—man is evil

(ii) WWI shows humanity’s destructive qualities

(2) Key works

(a) Commentary on Romans (1919)

(i) Dialectic in nature, but he backs away from this approach later on

Two poles: God’s holiness vs. man’s sinfulness

Impossible to even talk about theology because of no common

ground without a mediator

(b) Church Dogmatics (i) Theology is a church task, not a purely academic one

(ii) Requires faith, a faith community, and church tradition

(iii) Knowledge of God came from revelation

(3) Key teachings

(a) Natural vs. special revelation

(i) View on natural revelation

Can humans know something about God through observation?

Barth says no.

Nothing inherent in humans that makes us perceptive

Need for special revelation

(ii) Word of God as special revelation

(b) Word of God

(i) God actually speaking. God is both the subject and object of

revelation

Subject: God speaks and reveals

Object: What or who is revealed—God reveals God in Christ

(ii) Not static object

(iii) Three forms

Jesus Christ (*this was primary for Barth)

Scripture—as it points to Christ (primary for conservative,

evangelical Christians)

It is not our faith which makes the Bible the Word of God

It does, however, demand and underlie our faith

Christian proclamation—Gospel message because it points to

Christ

(c) Theology is Christocentric (centered, focused on Christ)

63

(i) Strong emphasis on Christ as mediator

(d) Sin is direct rebellion against the grace of God

(e) Incarnation is a saving act

(f) Election: Christ is the elect (the elected human and electing God)

ii. Emil Brunner (1889-1966)—Swiss Reformed theologian

(1) Life

(a) Attended and was later professor at the University of Zurich

(b) Pastored for nine years in the mountain village, Obstalden

(2) Teaching

(a) Disagreed with Barth on details of revelation—Brunner affirmed a

measure of natural revelation

(b) “Biblical personalism”

(i) type of truth that we are concerned about is a “Thou-truth”, not an

“It-truth” (propositional truth claims)

Comes as a personal summons

Personal connection as truth

(ii) Bible is indispensible witness to the revelation of Jesus Christ

(iii) Scripture is not final court of appeal; Jesus is final authority

Bible is not infallible Word—not true revelation, but instrument

of revelation Scripture gives clear accounts of original revelation of Jesus

Christ

iii. Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976)—takes Neo-orthodoxy the direction of liberal

theology and, in some ways, deism

(1) Teaches at Marburg (1921-1951)

(2) Uses a new, superior version of form criticism

(a) Breaks text up into small pieces

(b) Find element of oral tradition in a text

(c) Seeks to move away from deeds of Jesus because they were mythological

and tainted by early tradition

(d) Modern mind recognizes miracles as impossibility, thus tries to

demythologize them

(e) Demythologization—get back to teaching of Jesus (kerygma)

(f) Influenced by Kierkegaard and existentialism

(i) Interest is not in what Jesus said but in the call for response

(ii) Trying to get to root of teaching

5. Orthodox, mere Christianity

a. There were several significant authors and theologians who helped maintain the

orthodox Christian faith in the face of liberalism and Neo-orthodoxy. They do not fit

into the evangelical category, but many Evangelicals have and continue to embrace

their work as helpful and find a large degree of agreement with the teachings in the

writings of these men

i. Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920)

ii. B.B. Warfield (1851-1921)

iii. G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

iv. C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

64

v. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)

6. Evangelicalism

a. Characterized by a belief in the inerrancy of Scripture and a reaffirmation of the

historicity of the Bible

b. Key theologians in this tradition:

i. D.L. Moody (1837-1899)

ii. Carl F.H. Henry (1913-2003)

iii. Billy Graham (1918- )

D. Modern Theologians 1. Paul Tillich (1886-1965)

2. T.F. Torrance (1913-2007)

3. Brevard Childs (1923-2007)

4. Jürgen Moltmann (1926- )

5. James D.G. Dunn (1939- )

6. N.T. Wright (1948- )

7. Kevin Vanhoozer (1957- )